


When A Teacher Fails

by Dreamelilly018



Series: Miraculous Ladybug Stories [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Ableism, Ableist Language, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Aunt Nathlie Sancoeur, Bad Parenting, Bad Parenting Sabine Cheng, Bad Parenting Tom Dupain, Bad Teacher Caline Bustier, Brother-Sister Relationships, Caline Bustier Bashing, Dreams and Nightmares, F/F, F/M, Gabriel Agreste Is Not Hawk Moth, Good Parent Gabriel Agreste, Grounding, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Mentions of Ablesim, Miraculous Team, Multi, Neice and Aunt relationship, Neice and uncle relationship, Nightmares, Orginal Miraculous, Original Miraculous Ladybug Character(s) - Freeform, Post-Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon, Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Protective Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Protective Jagged Stone, Protective Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Sandboy Reference, Sexual Harassment, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Uncle Gabriel Agreste, Uncle Jagged Stone (Miraculous Ladybug), drugged
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:27:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 50,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamelilly018/pseuds/Dreamelilly018
Summary: When Jagged Stone, Penny Rolling, and the rest of Marinette's support group discovers what her teacher, Caline Busiter, told the young girl, they are preparing for war.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Caline Bustier & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jagged Stone, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Penny Rolling, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Kagami Tsurugi, Max Kanté/Alix Kubdel/Lê Chiến Kim, Penny Rolling/Jagged Stone
Series: Miraculous Ladybug Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891570
Comments: 368
Kudos: 1219





	1. Chapter One

Marinette Dupain-Cheng felt like she was going to scream as she stared at her home room teacher, Ms. Caline  Bustier , shocked. “What?” She felt loss for words as she tried to form a coherent thought. “Can you repeat that Ms.  Bustier ?”

“May I,” Caline Bustier responded, not looking up from her desk  where she was grading last night’s assignments. 

“What?” It took all of Marinette’s strength not to curse out loud. She had to wait two weeks, after making an appointment online, for her to have a moment to speak to her teacher and she refused to even make eye contact with her. Wasn’t she that worthless not to even have the respect to be given her full attention?

“May I,” her primary teacher repeated. 

“May you repeat what you said, Ms.  Bustier ,” the black and blue haired  teen asked through gritted teeth. 

“Yes,” the orange primary teacher answered as she looked up at her prized student. “I am glad that you have finally came to me, Marinette. There is much we have to talk about. Firstly, let’s start with your attitude lately. I am very disappointed in you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.”:

“I didn’t make my  appointment to talk about me,” she whispered in a soft voice. “I want to talk to you about Lila Rossi.”

“That is enough, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.” Caline Bustier frowned as she stared at her student. “Ms. Lila Rossi has done nothing to you and I thought you were being more of an allowance for a student who is known for having a disability. Like I said before, I am very disappointed with you and do not like the new Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng that is currently standing in front of me.”

With hearing that, the black-blue haired teen flinched, biting the inside of her cheek to hold back a whimper. “Why is it that anytime I come to ask for help that the school system turns it back onto me?” she asked in a feeble voice. “What did I do to deserve getting blame on when I am the victim when it is Lila that is the attacker and my bully?”

“Stop this at once!” Caline Bustier rose from behind her desk, arms crossing her chest. “Stop playing the victim card, Ms. Dupain-Cheng and sit down. We have much to discuss before the end of lunch. Sooner we get talking, the sooner you have a chance to grab a bite to eat before classes start again.”

“Ms. Bustier, can’t you just listen to me for once!” Marinette could feel her lips trembling and her eyes burning. From facing off against Hawk Moth for the past two years and forcing her emotions back, it took a lot to make her cry but hearing her teacher scold her for “acting up” when she was being bullied by many of her classmates was almost too much. “I need you to focus on me for once and listen to what I have to say. Not try to deflect my problems and say that I am just playing victim when I am fearing for my own life.”

“Stop being so drastic,” she scolded, going to stand in front of her and meeting her gaze. “I know that you have not gotten along with Alya and Nino for the past few weeks but that doesn’t mean you have to pretend to fear for your safety. If you just accept and try to be friends with Lila, the classroom would be less tense, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. You just need to grow up and accept that you’re not the center of the world.”

“I’m not like…” The fourteen-year-old trailed off, biting her lip. She was about to compare herself to Chloe but now as she thought about it, the blonde had come a long way in the last two years since Ladybug had first debuted. Her classmate, Chloe Bourgeois, was actively trying not to lose her temper and fall into her old ways. “I’m not like Lila,’ she finished after a moment. “Lila makes up all these lies to make her the center of the classroom. I am nothing like her, Ms. Bustier.” 

“That is the attitude that I am talking about,” her primary teacher pointed out, using one arm to gesture to the empty chair in front of her desk. “Please take a seat so we can start talking, young lady so you can go back to being a good little lady and be able to help your classmates once more.”

I t was that one moment that Marinette finally broke down. She had have fallen to the floor if the French-Chinese teen hadn’t thought of latching onto the side of her desk before she broke down, bawling and sobbing. “Why can’t you help the other students for once?” she asked, voice shaky as tears streamed down her face. “Why do I have to be the one to help them? Why can’t you be here to help me when I need you? For the past two years, I have seen you help Alya when she’s applying for grants to better equipment to Chloe when she’s having trouble reconnecting with her mother even to Lila when she tells you those ridiculous, utterly ridiculous likes about her “disabilities”. How many times have you seen me struggle not keep standing when dealing with all these responbilities that you gave me? Or get hurt in the past when Chloe almost got me arrested or Lila attacked me bad enough that I had to go to the hospital? A….am…am I-“ Letting out a low whine, she slipped to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. “Am I not worth it, Ms. Bustier? Did I do something not to deserve your help or the support that my primary teacher is supposed to give me?"

“Oh, Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” Ms. Bustier crowed, looking dismayed. “I have given up on seeing you having any worth since the third month of your seventh grade year. You’re grades are so low that I’ve been talking to Principal Damocles to put you into the remedial classes and an aide in class so I know you can comprehend what I am teaching. If you have shown any kind of strength in school, I would offer you my help but at the moment, I have nothing to give. As right now, even though you may fall short, I still ask for you to be a role model for your classmates and be the bigger person. Is that too hard now, sweetheart or do I have to explain it in simple terms?” 

Marinette wince, feeling as if Hawk Moth himself had found out her secret identity and her family and friends were in danger. “Remedial classes? You think that I am dumb,” she gasped, lips quivering one more. “Did you even take a moment to ask why my grades slip so badly? Maybe it had been me getting bullied for four years or me suffering from emotional breakdowns every time Lila, at this present moment, and Chloe, during her bad years, even look at me. If it wasn’t for my Uncle Jagged, Ms. Rolling, Luka, and Tikki I would have had a mental break down and easily become prey to Hawk Moth just because you never even took a moment to even ask if I was okay or needed some time to talk to an adult.”

During all of Marinette’s speak, Caline looked disappointed than angered. As the teen began to draw to a close on her yelling, she opened her mouth to speak but got caught off when a loud “Rrring” from the teenager’s pocket sounded. Looking annoyed now, she prepared to confiscate the cellphone from her student until the end of the day when she took a step back as if expecting to be slapped. 

“I’m sorry, Ms. Rolling,” the sniffling girl said as she turned around and began the slow trudge back to where her school bag was located. “The meeting with my primary teacher took longer than I expected. Did everything go okay with getting Kagami from her school?”

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng-“ Ms. Bustier began but got cut off by the young teenager. 

“I will be outside in about five or six minutes,’ she promised, hanging up before turning back to her teacher. Eyes burning and throat clenching, she said, “I am done talking to you  Caline Bustier,” she forced out, voice cracking as she fought to keep more tears at bay. “If I am such a bad student than I should just disappear into the background and not become a concern to you again even though you claim, I am your “Star or Prized Pupil” to my parents or other teachers.”

“You aren’t going anywhere!” She began to turn to close the door to her classroom but was shocked to find Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the most clumsiest girl she knew, had beat her there without falling on her way. “Young lady!”

“I will be going now,’ she repeated, voice better. “I have a lunch appointment with Uncle Jagged and his manager, Ms. Rolling, and my girlfriend, Kagami, to discuss some future endeavors with them. I have kept them waiting already for twenty minutes now and that is very unprofessional. So excuse me, Ms. Bustier, so that I can make it before it gets too late to eat anything more than a snack or something to drink.”

Without waiting to get one final word to leave, she closed the classroom door behind her began to walk to meet the others. Before she exited from the school building, she glanced down at her clutch where her crimson spirt guide, Tikki, looked up at her with reassuring eyes. Wiping the tears off of her face and taking a deep breathe, she exited from the school building, silently promising not to let this affect the meal she was going to have with the three most important people, besides Tikki and her Chaton, in her life at the moment.

***

Kagami Tsurugi always knew she was never good with emotions or judging others but when her girlfriend of five months, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, settled beside her at the upper class Japanese cuisine restaurant, she knew something was up. Normally, no one had to prod her for answers, but on the ride there, Jagged Stone’s assistant, Penny Rolling, had to speak to her several times before she got a low, muffled answer back. 

It had been the low sniffles and a whine of distress that caused her to look over at the pigtailed girl. She was staring at the kanji and kana with a worried expression. Her entire frame was trembling as she tried to sound out each letter perfectly instead came out garbled and nonsense sounding. 

“Do you need some help my Yuka?” she asked, voice gentle as she leaned over to look at her menu. “I know you have been practicing writing and reading Japanese but it takes time to learn.”

“I..I got it,” she replied, tears gathering in the corners of her. “I can do it myself, Ombire.”

“Are yo-“

“I’m not dumb,” she cried, burst into tears. “I’m not dumb, Kagami.”


	2. Chapter Two

Marinette lay in a small lump on one of the beds in Jagged Stone’s hotel room, darkness all around her from the thick comforter pulled over her head. The young teen’s eyes were glassy and red as tears leaked down her face and dampening the sheets beneath her head. Curling herself up into a smaller lump, she sniffled, giving no indication or acknowledgement to the three other people of the room. Her stomach clenched painfully as the edge of the bed dipped and a comforting hand was placed on her back, causing her to flinch. It was this hand and the fear of the unknown that drew another waterfall of tears to fall down her face.

Suddenly and gently, as if the owner of the hand sensed her inner turmoil and fear, the hand slowly withdrew but the weight still remained. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, the teen stopped and listened. There was only the soft whisper of the three other people of the room as the person shifted until it came to the edge of the bed. Drawing in a deep breathe to settle the racing of their thumping heart, she debated whether to see who the person was or to stay hidden when it was taken away from her. Seeing the hotel’s comforter ripped away from her and hearing it landing on the room’s floor, she let out a squeak, covering her head in an attempt to cover her head.

Once she heard no one jeering or throwing insults at her or the stiff hold of someone on her arms, she slowly lowered her arms, bluebell eyes looking up. Upon recognizing the person sitting in front of her, she relaxed. “Uncle Jarred!” Her once frowning and upset face was now have a look of delight after seeing her honor uncle. It had been several months since the pigtailed girl had seen him in person as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. While being Ladybug, there had been a few times their paths have crossed but only briefly. But as her civilian self, her schedule was packed with being Ladybug and protecting Paris, doing commissions, and her countless responsibilities of Ms. Busiter had piled on her plate, and Jagged Stone’s concert touring other countries where he parents would never allow her attend, it was hard to see each other beyond the screen. Or on rare times on a news channel in a foreign country, for Jarred “Jagged” Stone’s case, during a new interview. “It has been so long since I have seen you last. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine, Marinette.” Jarred Stone glanced down softly at his honoree niece as he settled back onto the edge of the bed, allowing the distressed girl some space if she needed. Placing his hands onto his lap, he began to speak. “Penny called me when I was out with Fang and said that I needed to come back to the hotel room. Once I got here, she explained something was wrong with my favorite, Little Fashion Designer. Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, patting a free spot next to him. As he shifted to face her, the rock star wasn’t expecting her to hurl himself into his open arms or break down crying as she hid her face into his favorite purple and black coat.

“What happened today, Yuka?” Kagami Tsurgui, his honoree niece’s girlfriend of five months, asked from where she sat in the desk chair towards the end of the beds. Gripping onto her red plaid skirt, she looked worried at the promising fashion designer. “What happened before Ms. Rolling and I came to pick you up? Was it that Lila girl again? Did she do something to upset you?”

“We can’t do anything to help you if you don’t tell us what happened,” Jagged Stone’s assistant, Penny Rolling, added from where she was taking notes on the other bed. Glancing up, she made sure to not miss a detail. There was something telling her these notes would be needed for future reference. “If something happened, you can tell us, Marinette.”

“Penny is right, my dear.” Jarred Stone answered, falling into place of a concerned uncle. Rubbing soothing circles in her back, he glanced at the other two in the room, eyebrows raised in questions. “If something is bothering you, Mari, you have to tell us. There is nothing we can do unless we’re informed of the situation you are going through.

"Was it this Lila girl?" Kagami said, voicing her thoughts. "Or is it that callous teacher, Caline Bustier?"

"Are those the two people who behind thinking that you are dumb," Penny suggested softly, frowning as the young teen began to sob again and clutched harder at her adopted uncle's designer jacket.

It was the three concerned looks and the gentle, reassuring, pats from Tikki that finally broke her. Teary eyed and shaky, the fifteen years old told them everything she had gone through the past year and a half.

In a broken, feeble voice she explained about the first day it happened. How the new girl, Lila Rossi, swooped in and turned everyone against her with her petty lies. Or how only her true friends, Adrien Agreste, Chloe Bourgeois, and Alya Cesaire, saw through then after she pointed out in inaccuracies of her tall tales. She went on to explain how she was threatened in the bathroom and her non-compliance led to Lila framing her. First it was cheating on a practice test than stealing a item that was supposed to be a family heirloom but had been released as part of the Gabriel line about twenty months prior.

But that wasn't what broke the camel's back. With the help of her friends, kids from higher grades, and her reputation at trying her best and always doing good in test, despite her lackluster grades, had saved what little respect other teachers outside of her primary classroom has for her. What had broke the camel's back had been her primary teacher herself.

With one final wave of tears, she explained what happened. How her primary teacher had scolded her about her attitude and not giving Lila leeway because of her "disability." Or her telling her without warning that she was going to be removed from her class to remedial ones so she didn't have to struggle or get an aide so she didn't have all the attention on her

The room was silent when she finished, too shocked to respond. It was Kagami who spoke first, after managing to find her voice. "Don't worry, Yuka," she said, intertwining her fingers with her own. "That woman will pay for what she has said and done."

***

Later that night, after dropping Kagami off at her home and carrying Marinette up to her bedroom, Jarred found himself sitting on the edge of her bed, gently tucking the girl in as he hummed one of his songs for an upcoming album. Once she was curled up on her side and clutching onto a raggedy Chat Noir doll, he stood up and went to lay her pink clutch on her desk below her loft bedroom. Once everything looked in order, the rock star paused to flick the light off and carefully climbed down into the hallway, closing the hatch behind him.

Now, for once he was alone. Leaning against one of the walls of the hall, he took a deep breath, trying to control the anger welling up inside him. Closing his eyes, Jarred bunched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. He couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him or he could risk becoming akumatized, putting his darling little fashion designer and sweet wife of five months into danger.

Once he was able to calm himself down enough to push away from the wall, the rock star headed downstairs. He had to tell Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain about what had been going on with their daughter. But it did trouble him that Marinette had never thought to confide in them before it got to his point. Just one wrong move on their part, Penny and himself would be ready to send them court papers for the date for when they were to meet over the custody of their daughter.

“Why in the world did you keep our daughter and her friend from returning to school?” was the first thing that Sabine Cheng had demanded when he came into their small apartment. “Tom and I are up to our ears with dealing with the consequences what you caused. Do you even know how much trouble our daughter is going to be in?”

It was the calming hand of his wife, Penny Rolling, which kept him from meeting the woman with his own roaring. While he was close to lowering to her level, Penny and he knew that them yelling would do no good for Marinette. “You weren’t there when your daughter told us what was happening right under your noses,” he said in a gruff voice before drawing Penny close to him. With her beside him, he get the hot gaze of the Dupain-Chengs and began to tell him what his little niece had gone through.

Much to his chagrin, Tom Dupain was frowning and looked ashamed of what he must have thought. But soon as his wife whispered something in his ear, he went back to being crabby as a hibernating bear. To the side of him, his wife, Sabine Cheng, did not look happy. Instead she looked furious as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave the world famous mom glare.

“Marinette is just being dramatic,” dismissed Sabine before turning to leave. “Thank you for bringing her back, Jarred, but there is nothing to worry about. Everything will be figured out tomorrow morning when our daughter is moved to the remedial classes. In those classes, the teacher will modify her behavior to fit into society instead of stand out as an oddity that she is.”

“You may leave now,” Tom said, ushering down the steps and out of the bakery’s front doors before they could protest. “Thank you for caring so much about Mari but I think it is best that you never disturb her again with her little fantasy of being a fashion designer.”

Without another word, he shut the door and clicked the lock into place, disappearing back upstairs.

“Penny,” Jarrod said, glancing at his wife, stopping when she saw her typing furiously on her tablet. “You have Mari’s school number? And the paperwork that I still technically have temporary custody of her?”

“Yes.” Penny nodded. “What do you want me to do, Jarred?”

“Call the school and schedule a meeting with the school’s headmaster and Marinette’s primary teacher after school tomorrow. Along with that, call the school board to let them know they better have the file on the evaluation that they did on Marinette in my inbox by noon tomorrow or I will be taking this to the press. I doubt they will want something like this to make to the public eye. It would be bad publicity for the school.”

“I can call the school now but nothing will be done until tomorrow morning,” Penny pointed out as she began to set to work. “But as soon as it becomes eight tomorrow morning, they will be dealing with me. Something tells me that France DuPont will not be able to make it through this unscathed, Jarrod.”

“Oh, and Penny?”

“Yes, honey?”

“Call Sesbiasian, and tell him I need him to call me soon as possible.”

“Will do,” Penny promised.

***

Kagami knew something was wrong when her mother, who normally strayed from physical affection, had pulled her into a tight hug that almost pushed the air out of her lungs. Awkwardly hooking her arms around her mother’s bony frame, the black and blue haired girl looked up at her mother. “Is something wrong, Mother?” she asked, letting her lead to one of the two couches in the house. “Did something happen?”

“Your friend’s uncle informed me of what happened today,” her mother said with a frown. “And I can say while your lovely friend may need some extra help with her Math and Physics homework she is far from a poor student. I know she gets lackluster grades not because of her not understanding the coursework rather her testing anxiety. Because of this, I am here to inform you that I will be working with Mr. Jarred and his wife, Penny Rolling, to make sure whoever has hurt the poor girl pays.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, shifting anxiously. Kagami knew that her mother showed more favoritism to Marinette over her own daughter but she didn’t complain knowing how her girlfriend’s home life could be. While her mother could be strict and having a one track mind, Tomoe knew when her daughter was about to be pushed far and would back off, giving her a lot of praise and affection. Marinette’s parents were far from that. When she first had met them, they seemed like good parents but after a few months of being friends, Kagami learned their true colors. There had been many times where Mari had to cancel last minute because of how exhausted she was from doing a full day of deliveries when she was supposed to have off or how she had to plead with Tomoe to stay overnight once so she could have one night entirely free so she could take her clothes in from losing almost thirty full pounds of weight. “What is going to happen to Marinette, Mother?”

“What I am saying that Marinette is no longer alone in this fight,” Tomoe replied to her bewildered daughter. “From this moment forward, your darling little friend will have mine, Gabriel’s, and Audrey’s entire legal team coming after them for what they did to that girl. She already has hard enough life that I worry for her.” She sighed, gripping onto her daughter’s hand. “But at the moment, all we can do is be there for her, my dear.”

“…Mother…?”

“I have freed your schdule for the next two weeks,” Kagami’s mother went on as a smile came across her face. “Now I know how special Miss Dupain-Cheng is to you, so I approve of you keeping close to her. Just please do be careful, I don’t want our father’s parents or mine on the doorsteps asking why they saw their granddaughter on some foreign website kissing some random girl they don’t know.”

Kagami didn’t know what to say as head radiated through her cheeks. “Yes, mother,” she promised, ducking her heads embarrassingly. “I certainly will be keeping, Mari close to me.”

“Good girl,” Tomoe praised.


	3. Chapter Three

“Anyone know where Marinette is?” Alya asked, not looking up from where she was editing on her laptop. “Even when she is late, the bluenette is normally here by now.”

Chloe paused, lowering the magazine back down onto the table than met Adrien’s puzzled gaze. Each shook their head than shrugged. It wasn’t uncommon Marinette to be late for class with her having sleep issues but Alya was right. Even if she was running late, the blue and black haired girl always made it to class ten minutes early.

“My father mentioned her last night,” Adrien finally answered, blinking his green eyes. “He said that he cleared my schedule and for me to bring all you guys over during lunch. I don’t know why but I have a feeling it’s something about Mari.”

“Her parents probably had her deliver more packages again,” Alya deduced with a frown, now flipping through a spiraled notebook. “She’ll show up any minute now, guys, breathless and yelling, “I’m here! I’m here!”

Chloe and Adrien glanced at Alya, unsure. While they not have known Marinette longer than the Ladyblogger, they knew that she would normally text them if she would be late for their ten minute meeting before class, she always mangled to text or call one to warn one of them.

A loud thump came from the front of the classroom, making them all jump. Alya cursed under her breath as she tore out one of her notebook pages partly and Chloe didn’t look pleased by the mess of chocolate and whip cream on the front of her sweater. Looking up all three of them frowned in confusion as they saw a woman, looking in her mid-thirties, stood in front of the classroom. Once the woman saw she caught the attention of the classroom, she cleared her throat.

“Good morning students,” she greeted, removing a vanilla envelope from her bag. “Will these students please accompany me down to the office please?”

‘Oh shit,” was the shared thought of the three, eyes wide. The last time this had happen, it had caused three students, two years above of them, to be arrested and another expelled about three years ago, when they were a few months away from entering middle school.

“Mr. Adrien Agreste, Ms. Chloe Bourgeois, Ms. Alya Césaire, Ms. Lila Rossi, and Ms. Alexandra Clark.” Closing the folder, she grabbed her bag and headed to the front of the classroom. “Well, hurry up, you five. I don’t think you want to keep your headmaster waiting on a day like this.”

“Adrienkins,” Chloe said as she got up, throwing her way her spilled coffee cup. “I am not going to the office covered in chocolate and whip cream. You better think of something now.”

“Do you have-“ He began as he began to unbutton the shirt that went over his dress shirt. Once receiving a nod, the blonde handed his shirt to his childhood friend and folded up her sweater, promising to have Nathalie throw it in the wash during lunch break.

Once everyone was packed up, the group of five headed to the office. Adrien, Chloe, and Alya made to stay away from Lila instead hung back by the new student, Alexandra Clark, who was having trouble holding onto her bag and walking with her crutches.

They didn’t know Alexandra that well with her only joining the class three weeks ago but knew if it came to it, she would be on their side. For some reason, Lila had quit throwing herself at Adrien and went to the new girl, who couldn’t stand up to herself with her knowing very little French.

“Thank you,” she said to the three as they drew close to the office. “Is the one girl you hang out with all the time okay?”

“Marinette,” Adrien said in perfect English. “And we don’t know. We are hoping that she is just sick or got stuck helping her parents at the bakery longer than normal.”

“Ms. Clark...” A woman dressed in a black pantsuit approached them. “Can you please come with me to classroom 188, please?”

“Do I need my school bag?” she asked, starting to take it from Adrien. “I’m still getting used to carrying it around with crutches, Miss.”

“I will carry it,” the woman said, taking it from her. “Now please follow me.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” the purple haired girl said.

“Mr. Agreste,” a male voice called, causing the blonde model to turned around. “You will come with me to classroom 289 please. There is some information that we need to discuss about.”

“Meet in front of the school to be picked up by Simon,” she said to Alya and Chloe as he prepared to leave. “And tell Alex, if you see her, that she should come with either of you to come with us.”

They both nodded before all three of them departed.


	4. Chapter Four

Chloe Bourgeois tried to make herself look not frightened at what was happening as she picked at her fingernails, trying to settle the thumping of her heart. Whatever the woman had brought her to the headmaster’s office for mustn’t be good. Blue eyes peeking up from beneath her bangs, she watched as the woman, professionally dressed and holding a clipboard with her long French tip fingers, as she settled in the seat in front of her. “Are you hungry or thirsty, Ms. Bourgeois?” the woman asked, placing the clipboard on the table. “I can ask someone to fetch something from the cafeteria if you need anything.”

“No, thank you,” she said, shifting nervously in her seat as she pinched the Ladybug themed charm attached to her phone. If Ladybug could handle facing Hawk Moth and his akumas on a daily basis without flinching, she could speak to this woman. “W-what do you want? Why am I here?” She sat up straighter. “Am I in trouble?”

The woman glanced at her, eyebrow raised before sitting up straighter. “Is there a reason why you should be in trouble?” she questioned, legs crossing over each other. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Normally if I am brought to a headmaster’s office, it’s because I did something,” she explained, drawing her knees close to her chest. “So why am I here for if I’m not in trouble?”

“You aren’t in trouble,” promised the woman. “My name is Clara Koi,” she introduced herself. “I just want to ask you a few questions than you can return to class. How does that sound?"

“Whatever?” Rolling her eyes, she moved one hand from around her knees to stare at the Ladybug charm. “What stupid questions do you want to ask?”

“What is your relationship with a Miss Lila Rossi?”

Chloe let out a loud gruff laugh, almost hurting her throat. Glaring into thin air, she gave a disgusted look. “Lila Rossi is nothing to me,” she said, trying to hold her composure. There was no reason to give Ladybug and Chat Noir another akuma to battle when they were already being pushed to the limits. “If you want to know her relationship with me, she is a bully and a manipulative bitch!”

Clara blinked, lips pressing firmly together. “Hmm..” She began to write on the clipboard. “And do you have a reason why to think like that?”

“She’s a huge liar!” Chloe sat up straighter, legs withdrawing to settle on the floor. “All she does is spew lies. All she says is anything but the truth.”

“What about Ms. Dupain-Cheng? What is your relationship with her?”

Chloe blinked. “Two years ago, I was a horrible person to her and bullied her to almost committing suicide but after having a lightening moment, I changed. Eight months ago, Adrien, Alya, her, and me have become good friends and have done countless movie nights, sleepovers, and shopping trips. So, I am happy to say that Marinette is one of my closest friends, next to the other two, that I know I can rely on.”

“What about her relationship with Caline Bustier and in the classroom?”

Chloe gritted her teeth, taking a breath as she stood up. “I am done here,” she said, fists clenching onto the ladybug char as she turned to leave. “I will be returning to class now.”

“We are not done here!” Clara rose to her feet and went to stand in front of the door before Chloe could open it. “I still need to talk and ask some more questions.”

“If you want to know about Caline Bustier,” Chloe began, heart leaping into her throat. “Than put this down as a direct quote from Chloe Fucking Bourgeois! ‘Caline Bustier is nothing but a bitch that can go burn in the lowest bowels of hell for how she let the male students become to handsy with me, Marinette, and Alya or how us girls didn’t go to the bathroom unless Adrien stood on the guard outside the bathroom because she doesn’t do anything about bullying. Or the fact that My Adrienkins, who scored a IQ 175, when the average is 75 for his age, and he is too struggling. It is only because of his father that Alya, him, and I are even passing.”

“Then why is his father let him stay in this school, if Caline Busiter is so bad?”

“Because of us!” Chloe stepped around and reached for the door handle, preparing to force her way out. “Uncle Gabriel knows that if Adrien wasn’t here to protect us, even with my self-defense and Marinette’s quick thinking, he knows that the boys would gain up on us and do who knows what! They don’t dare lay a hand on Adrien because they know if they touch one hair on his head, his father will be suing them before they could utter, “Sunshine.”

Tears fathering in the corners of her eyes, she yanked the door open, startling Clara as she stumbled forward. Before she could even scold her for her childishness, Chloe was already leaving and doing straight back to the locker room where the others would meet up with her once they were done with their meetings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, who is ready to join the mob and go after Caline Bustier and Lila Rossi with me? Especially after reading this chapter?


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to let you guys know I'll be stepping back a few hours to a day to do some things that I've been wanting to do since I don't have any classes tomorrow. I might publish the next chapter for this book or So It Begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!! 
> 
> This chapter will contain two characters discussing sexual harassment and threat of rape of between two characters. I will leave a summary of this chapter at the bottom if you would rather skip this but still want to keep reading the story.

Alexandra slouched down into the seat as the woman walked around the room. She had closed the door and locked it behind them, startling the fourteen year old as she now followed her around with her vibrant blue eyes, heart thumping in her chest. They had arrived to class room in the older section of the school about five minutes prior and all the woman had done was pace. "Ma-Ma’m?" The purple haired girl moved her gaze back down to her lap, her tone shaky as she fell into English without any hesitation. "Why are we here? Why do you want to talk to me before?"

The woman paused in her pacing, raising an eyebrow as if her pitiful attempt to hide her nerves didn’t fool her. Placing her hands onto her hip, she looked at the petite girl than shook her head, muttering something in French before she went to sit behind the teacher’s desk, pulling out a clipboard and pencil from inside her bag. "I am sorry to keep you worrying," she said in flawless English, giving the teen a pitiful smile. "My name is Claudette Wish, Ms. Clark." She cleared her throat, hitting play on a recording device. "How about we start now, dear?"

Alexandra took a deep breath, licking her lips, then sighed, shifting painfully in her seat. Hands falling on her lap, she looked up, feeling calmer than before. "Why am I here for?" she repeated, meeting the gaze of the green eyed woman. "Why do you want to talk to me for? I don’t answer questions until you explain why am I here for?"

The woman gaze once soft and kind now hardened to be cold as ice. Flinching at her gaze, Alex felt her shoulder slump and her elbows press into her side, grounding her in the room. Now wouldn’t be the moment for her to remember her past moments with Lila.

"You will not be asking the questions here, Ms. Clark," Claudette said, keeping her predatory gaze on the girl, causing her to shrink back further and breath become labored. "I am just here to ask you some questions and it should take no more than fifteen minutes."

_No one will believe you, Alex. You will be mine forever.._

Squeezing her eyes shut and blinded by tears, Alexandra felt the room slowly creep towards her. Memories of familiar icy gaze looking at her and hands scraping at the back of her neck, flooded her, causing her to shake, fingers digging into the rough plastic of the chair. Chest heaving and feeling light headed, she focused on the roaring in her ears, trying to push the memories away.

_Five._

**Lila isn’t here.**

_Four._

**Lila isn’t in the hallway.**

_Three._

**Lila isn’t in this section of the school.**

_Two._

**Lila can’t control me here.**

_One._

**Lila can’t touch me here.**

With the last thought racing through her mind, Alex managed to push the sensations away and let out a gasping breath, feeling the heavy weight leave her. Blinking open her misty eyes, she was met with the disbelieved face of Claudette, mouth open as if she was trying to talk to her. "W-w-what do you want from me?" she hissed out through gritted teeth, ready to meet the woman’s predatory gaze with her own fighting instincts.

"I just want to ask you a few questions about your relationship with Lila Rossi," the woman said, eyes softening as she glanced at the shaken girl. "Just a few questions than you can go."

"So I’m not in trouble," she began, voice growing soft.

"No..." The woman grabbed the clipboard. "Now can you please describe your current relationship with Ms. Lila Rossi?"

"I have no relationship with her..." Alexandra tightened her hands into her fists, trying to prevent her breathing to grow heavy again. She already allowed Lila to cause her break down once already. There was no way that was going to happen again. She is a classmate and that is all."

"Are you sure..?" The woman glanced through a few papers beneath the top one before looking up. "Towards to some people that I have spoken to before speaking to you has told me that you and she are in a very serious relationship as girlfriends. Can you tell me about that then?"

Her stomach twisted and flipped as realization fell on her on what the woman had said. There was someone, possibly Lila, who thought she was dating the person who harassed her from the very first day she attended France Dupont. "I don’t know who told you that," she began, words rushing out of her before she could process what she was saying. "But that person is spreading lies. I would never date anyone like her. She makes Hawk Moth look nice and that something I thought I would never say about a supervillain compared to a civilian but Lila Rossi has become my own version of Hawk Moth."

"Hmmm…" The woman, Claudette, began to write on her paper, pencil scratching filling the room. "And why would you say something like that, Ms. Clark?"

"Because I don’t like Lila," she said, her gaze focusing on the top of the desk almost as if it was the most satisfying thing in the world. Her tense demeanor from before was beginning to return. It was as if Lila was in the room, hanging onto her again. "Because, every time, Lilia Rossi, or someone like her, is around me, I feel sick to my stomach and moments away from throwing up."

"What do you mean by someone like her?" The woman paused, eyes landing on the fourteen-year-old. "Can you please expand on that and give me more details, Ms. Clark? It would be very helpful with building onto the case that we are currently investigating."

"Lila Rossi is someone that doesn’t take no for answer," she said, starting to feel her courage coming to her. "Or a person that refuses to back down after seeing how uncomfortable the person is unless someone else intervenes on their behalf."

"Has someone intervene for you before? Was it Ms. Caline Busiter or one of your classmates?"

Alexandra let out a mocking laugh. "Ms. Busiter never intervenes with anything that pertains to Lila," she snarled, tears beginning to gather in the corner of her eyes. "In fact, she encourages it, saying that Lila is just showing me affection and I should be honored for getting so much attention from her."

"Who intervened then?"

"Chat Noir and Ladybug." She was smiling as she recalled that day. It was towards her first week when she was still getting used to the medicine and was out of it. Without her realizing it, Lila had took one of her crutches and refused to give it back until she got a kiss and a good hug which would lead her to grabbing a hold of her butt to make her extra uncomfortable. That day had been a bad one for her. Her medicine, which was still testing out, had worn off three hours before she was allowed to take another dosage, leaving her in much pain and almost in tears. Lila’s little act of playing her weakness for affection had been the one to push her to tears and attracted the attention of an akuma. If it hadn’t been the quick action of the two Parisan heroes, she would have been a pawn in a supervillain’s demonic plan. Thankfully, after capturing and releasing the akuma, they had noticed how Lila was still gaining up on her and trapped her on the bench with no place to escape. Ladybug had dealt with Lila while Chat Noir helped her, after getting her crutch, to her feet and escort her home, saying if she ever needed help, she would just need to flag one of the down in perfect English and wished her good day before leaving. "They were the only ones that ever intervened. The blonde boy and blue and black haired girl tried in class but would be yelled at or punished by Ms. Busiter if they intervened during class hours."

"We are almost done, Ms. Clark," the woman promised. "I’m sorry for prodding you more but can you give a few instances that might have happened between you and Ms. Rossi. It would give us something to look into once we have access to the security cmeras later this week."

"I have many. But the first few that come to mind is when she gets to handsy to put it lightly," she said, hands digging into her arms. "Many times during class, her hand will find is way between my legs, and it will stay there unless I shift and "accidently" hit her with one of my crutches." Taking a second to close her eyes and breathe out, remembering the breathing techniques Ladybug had taught her last week after finding her crying in the middle of the nearby park, she centered herself. While it sped up her heart and made her feel disgusting to talk about the moments with Lila, Alex knew it was needed. Someone needed to hear what was happening and to show others that if you talked to someone, something could be done and that you weren’t alone. "There was another time…"

The woman, Claudette, paused the recording device. "Do you want to take a short break, Ms. Alexandra?" Her green eyes looked at her shaking frame. "We can afford a five minute one before continuing."

"No!" Alexandra knew if she took a break, she would chicken out and lie and say that everything she was telling her was made up for attention, something that she didn’t want to do. "Let’s just finish it, please. The sooner we finish, the sooner, I can push this behind me and go back to class, hopefully before Lila gets there."

Nodding, the professionally dressed woman hit play on the recording device once more. "Now as you were saying there was another incident," she began once she scanned over her notes. "Can you please tell us about that one? From what it looks like, it seems this one has affected you deeply. Talking about it, will not only help you but give us more to look into and a better chance to figure out how we will proceed after this case is done being investigated."

"Okay…" Taking a deep breath to brace herself and sitting up straighter, Alexandra said, "It happened two days ago, during a period of silent reading. Lila was getting to close and had pushed me against the wall, leaving me no room to escape. When trying to tell her to give me some room, she leaned in, putting one hand on my thigh and whispering into my ears, "You will be mine one day, Alexandra. We will be together and I will make you mine, even if it wasn’t willing. One day you will be unable to escape from my advances."

Silence hung over the room as Claudette stopped the recording. "Ms. Clark," she began but stopped when Alexandra rose shakily to her feet, gripping tightly onto her crutches so that her fingers turned bone white. "Would you like to talk, without the recording device on?"

"No..." With a shake of her head, she turned away, taking backwards as she approached the door. "I don’t want to talk to her anymore." Wiping the tears off of her face and holding back a sob, she opened the door and walked out, instinctly heading to the locker room, knowing she could be alone there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Alexandra Clark, a new student of Adrien's, Alya's, Chloe's, and Marientte's class, has a meeting with a woman named Claudette, who causes her to have a panic attack and flashback to some moments with Lilia Rossi, who is claiming to be her girlfriend and is putting in uncomfortable positions with her unwanted advances and refusing to not to take no as answer. She, even though she is shaking and scared of telling someone, begins to tell a few moments that Lila begins to go to far and tells how the only people to fully intervene was Ladybug and Chat Noir, adding that Marinette and Adrien tried to help but Caline Busiter wouldn't allow them instead is encouraging Alexandra to respond to Lila's advances, even though seeing it makes her visibly uncomfortable. One incident, just a few days ago, is told on how Lila threatens to assault her, even if she isn't willing, to make sure that she can never back down from her, stunning the woman and allowing Alexandra to leave, heading to the locker room to be alone. 
> 
> ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
> 
> Wow! This chapter was one to write. I think next to one of the earlier chapters, this was on the longer side to write. While I feel uncomfortable and hate writing about this, I have been hearing more, not in my circle but from my friends' circle or from my past, with people going to sexual harassment and people saying that the "person is justing playing" or "boys will be boys." This is the reason why I wanted to include this into the story to show, that people in authority who you should be able to count on for help, may just be the ones who push the accusations as a teenager simplify being your friend or trying to show that they like you. But unwanted touches, name calling, or prying questions that drives person to tears is not okay. No one should go through that alone and if you are dating someone like that, it is abusive. 
> 
> if you need help, reach out to someone, a pastor, a parent of your friends, a help hotline, and if they say that you are being childish just keep going. In things like this, you must be your own advocate and keep screaming and kicking, throwing a figurative temperature, until someone, anyone, gives a moment to listen and believes you. 
> 
> But onto good news, I will have a practically free weekend, so I'm going to be get a lot of writing done, probably start on a new fic for this series, and start writing the bonus chapters for this book. And write some fluffy, one-shots for my "Mama Eda and Mother Lilith" series for Owl House to balance out all the serious writing I have done the past few weeks. 
> 
> And I am open for request if anyone, please be fluff, wants to request a one-shot for the Owl House, Warrior Cats, Miraculous Ladybug, Pokémon, Digimon, or Steven Universe. 
> 
> Anyway, have a good evening/night/moring/afternoon, or whatever time you are reading this. 
> 
> -Dreamelilly018


	6. Chapter Six

“Ms. Césaire?” The woman, named Marie, looked up from where she was jotting down notes. Brown eyes landing on the girl, she arched an eyebrow, shifting in her seat in the hard plastic chair. Tapping the hard metal of her pen on the table, she tried to get the middle school student’s attention before going on. “Ms. Césaire, did you hear what I said?” When receiving no response, the woman was preparing to get up, planning to shake the fifteen-year-old girl’s shoulder. “Ms. Césaire!”

Lowering her hazel-brown gaze to the table, the middle schooler refused to meet the woman’s gaze, not wanting to talk to her at the moment. Feeling a light bump on the outside side of her leg, the cook’s daughter sighed, shoulders slumping. This wasn’t the time to play the “self-centered teen” role as people thought she did when put under pressure. Flinching at the sharp rap of the pen on the table, she raised her gaze, not amused.

“I know you may not want to be here, Ms. Césaire,” the interviewer said, lips pressing firmly together. “But the longer you refuse to cooperate, the longer that you have to stay here and miss out on our classes which I think your mother wouldn’t like.” Seeing she had her gaze, Marie picked up a vanilla envelope. “I am here to ask you a few questions about your friend, Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and her school work.”

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“Why do you want to talk about Marinette? What did she do?”

"Your friend, Ms. Dupain Cheng," the woman began, choosing her words carefully. "Will be placed into remedial classes permanently if you don't answer questions that are pertaining to the current open case."

“WHAT!” Stunned silence hung over the room as the teen prepared to leap out of her seat. It took much to startle or scare the teen. The only time she could remember being startled was the first time she had met Trixx and faced their first Akuma alongside Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Queen Bee. “What do you mean remedial classes? For Marinette?”

“Please don’t raise your voice at me,” scolded Marie with a stern look. “You will treat me with respect when speaking to me.”

“Marinette is too smart to join the remedial classes,” Alya began, keeping her voice steady. “Whoever put her in there is an idiot.”

“Can you elaborate on that?” The woman glanced at Alya before turning her attention back to her notes. “You mean that Ms. Dupain-Cheng is too smart for remedial classes when her grades are lackluster.”

“Her grades aren’t lacking luster,” Alya snapped, getting to her feet and pushing her chair away from her. Arms crossing over her chest, she added, “Marinette’s grades are all C’s in most classes except for an A in science. Compared to our other classmates, I, Adrien, Chloe, and I are doing better off with Mr. Agreste intervening for us four and Mrs. Tsurugi for Marinette. They refuse to let us fail because of the incompetence of our primary teacher.”

“Now you cannot assume, it’s the teacher who is failing because one of her students has lackluster grades,” the woman warned with a short frown. “Now, let’s get back to what we were doing before.”

“Fine if someone hardworking and smart someone like Marinette is “dumb,” Alya scoffed with a roll of her eyes. “Then the entire class is dumb then, woman.”

Marie opened her mouth to protest but Alya cut her off.

“If you want to blame anyone and have them sent to remedial classes, then it should be Lila Rossi!” Alya was now fuming, hands balling into fists as she fought the urge to punch the woman but knew not to. She didn't want to get into trouble for attacking an authority figure or see the disappointment on Ladybug's face because of her lack of impulse control. “Lila Rossi is a manipulator and a pathaological liar. She will do anything for attention even if it means isolating or breaking down someone until they are no longer considered a threat by her.”

Grabbing her school bag and angrily putting it onto her back, she slammed the chair into place, moving across the room before Marie could even scramble out of her seat. “Now if you excuse me, I am done here,” she snapped, fingers curling around the door handle. “And for a direct quote from me, “If anyone is dumb enough to think that the lies Lila Rossi babbles about is real, should be put into remedial classes and retaught on how not to become like sheep.”


	7. Chapter Seven

“Everything will be alright, Kid,” Plagg said as his Chosen stalked the tiny space in the bathroom stall. Floating in front of him, the cat Kawami grew worried. “Whatever that Lady wants to walk about, you can handle this. Just think that you are facing off against Hawk Moth and channel your inner Chat Noir.”

Adrien, now leaning against one side, gave a mute nod, face still ashen and eyes glowing with worry. “Thanks for the pep talk, Plagg,” he said, keeping his arms crossed over his chest. “If Bugaboo and I can face what Hawk Moth throws at us, I can handle this little meeting with no trouble.” Holding his shirt open, he welcomed him back inside his breast pocket. “Everything will be okay,” he whispered to himself, exiting from the stall.

While it was easy to convince himself, Plagg saw right through it. With how his heart was thumping in his chest and the slight tremble of his frame, it was easy for him to understand. With him growing up in a home where speaking up his feelings was forbid, Adrien was forced to use his body language more. And from where he was hidden, Plagg could read it perfectly: his Chosen, Adrien Agreste, was terrified and didn’t know what to do.

Burrowing deeper into the breast pocket and pressing close to his heart as he cold, Plagg let out a loud purr, gently needing to reassure the boy. While the black Kawami couldn’t be seen or heard by anyone else except for Adrien or Ladybug during dire occasions, didn’t mean that his Kitten had to go through this alone.

“Thanks, Plagg,” Adrien whispered as his racing heart began to calm as he opened the door to where the woman was waiting.

he woman, who had introduced herself as Kassidy Coal, was standing behind an impromptu interview desk, organizing a few sheets in the vanilla folder in front of her. She didn’t notice his entrance until the metal chair on the other side, facing her, was pulling back with a loud scrape on the titled floor.

“So, what do you want to ask me about?” Once seated, Adrien was gripping onto the edge of his seat, taking deep breaths as he tried to pull his courageousness and bravery from being Chat Noir to the forefront so he could go through with the interview. “I only have until awhile before I have to go to the gym for Physical Education, Ma’am. What do you want to talk about?”

“Mr. Agreste,” the woman said, shuffling the papers into place. “What is your relationship with Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

Adrien was taken back by the abrupt question. “What? My….relationship with Marinette?” He blinked, relaxing his grip on the chair, and sighed. All this person wanted to do was talk about his Princess. That would be easy enough. “Marinette is a good friend of mine, Ma’am,” he answered. “Along with Alya and Chloe. They mean everything to me.”

“Has she talked to you about her struggle with classes or her poor grades?”

“We’re all struggling,” Adrien replied, frowning. “The only classes that I and my friends have A’s in is gym and Physics. The rest are low C’s or high D’s. And that is with all of us getting tutored for every subject by my bodyguard and Marinette gets double the help between me and the tutor that Kagami’s mother got for her and her daughter.”

“Did Ms. Dupain-Cheng tell you that she was going to be placed in remedial classes?”

Stunned silence from Adrien and a low growling hiss from Plagg was the woman’s answer. It took many things that could strike the teenage model into silence with dealing with a supervillain who brought a person’s worst nightmare alive or having a talking cat that helped him transform into a hero. But hearing of his Princess and their Everyday Ladybug being put into remedial classes was one of them.

“You have to not be telling the truth, Ma’am! Marinette is way too smart to be put into remedial classes as you say. If she goes to remedial classes, I know Mari will be anything but bored,” he stammered, eyes growing wide as he tried to recall any moments when she would have mentioned it. But as Adrien recalled, no such moments came to mind. “Marinette is a far cry from needing remedial classes. If anyone, it would be Lilia Rossi and everyone else except for me and my three friends.”

“Hmm...” The woman hummed softly as she began to type on her laptop. “Could you please explain any evidence that you have on this matter, Mr. Agreste? Any information that you give me will be looked into and proven correct, will be put into an evidence file for this case.”

Adrien almost smiled. There was more than enough evidence for that. “Mrs. Tsurugi had Marinette tested, with her parents’ permission, to see where her placement was. She got in the 90 percentile for her age group for intelligence and only shows she is a bit behind with math and science but quickly caught up after Mrs. Tsurugi got her a tutor until this year. Even with the tutor’s help, she is getting mostly C’s, a D, and two A’s in classes outside Ms. Bustier’s classroom.”

“That will help...” Cassidy looked up from what she was typing. “Is there anything else you would like to add before we finish the interview, Mr. Agreste?”

“She’s very brave and courageous,” he added. “There are many times during Akuma battles before Ladybug and Chat Noir come when there is a child or an elderly person who gets caught in the Akuma's path and she rushes out to help them. Or the time when the little boy she was watching, August, somehow became the Akuma's target and she fought tooth and nail until Chat Noir managed to get them to safety.”

“Thank you, Mr. Agreste.” With a quick flourish of her hand, she saved her document and closed the lid to her laptop. Gathering up her items and slipping her important documents and laptop into the inner pocket of her bag, the American woman led the blonde teenage model out into the hallway, locking the old classroom behind her. “You should head back to class now, Mr. Agreste. Thank you for allowing us to remove you from class to speak to you for a little bit. The information that you told me and the records from earlier years and the test you told me about will do nicely when my team and I go over this case later this week. Now don’t be late for class,” she repeated as she turned around and left, leaving Adrien to turn around and high tail it towards the locker room, knowing Chloe, Alya, and possibly Alexandra, would be there waiting for him. Their parents might not like it, but they were going to his father’s mansion a long time before lunch.


	8. Chapter Eight

Adrien Agreste knew what he was doing was foolish and reckless but as the dark, tear streaked face Alexandra came back to his mind, it was easy for him to push it back. Holding the door wider for the slow moving girl, the blonde model ducked out of the fire exit, knowing soon their absence would be noticed. "Let's go to my place," he said to the girls, quickly translating to English as the younger girl's face lit up like a child would on Christmas morning. "We'll be safer there than out in the open."

"Uncle Gabriel isn't going to be happy," Chloe said, slipping into her English as Alya nodded. It wasn't well known but all three of them knew English in varying status. While Chloe knew it well enough not to make a beginner's mistake, it was Adrien who sounded like it was his mother language. It was Alya, who just started learning a few months prior, struggled to talk. She understood and could write but couldn't speak. "You know how he is with your schooling."

"Strict," Alya agreed with a firm nod as they noticed how Alexandra was moments away from burst into tears.

"Alexandra?" Adrien asked, cautiously approaching the girl. "Are you okay?"

"It's been weeks since I've had anyone my age talk to me that wasn't Lila," she said, giving a watery smile. "I didn't know you could speak English? W-w-why did you have to take so long to...”

"The others wouldn't let any of us near you," Adrien explained, guiding the girl over to an open space next to a cafe. "Lila told them we were trying to take her "sweetheart" away from her. B-but now that doesn't matter," he added hastily. "I know Chloe, Alya, Marinette, and I barely know or spoken to you but you are no longer alone. So, what do you say? Friends?"

Silence hung over the group as Alexandra glanced at Adrien's open hand, vibrant blue eyes teary. With a mute nod, she took ahold of it as she stood up, elbows pressing her crutches into her side. "Merci," she breathe, eyes starting to lighten. "Copines."

Adrien nodded.

"We should head to Agreste Manor," Chloe interrupted the pair. "Before Uncle Gabriel makes Hawk Moth look like a docile creature."

"Agree," Alya, Adrien, and Alexandra echoed in unison as they began their slow walk across down to where Adrien's family home was located.

***

"If we are quite enough, we can sneak up to my bedroom," Adrien explained as they began to approach the gate of his family's home. "And, once it gets close to lunch, we come downstairs and walk into the dining area, pretending that we just arrived. Then, Father will be introduced to Alexandra, and we will settle down for lunch. Hopefully, no one will find out that we are skipping school."

"Right," Alya said, speaking French. "My mom would kill me if she found that I skipped class. I wou-"

The hazel eyed girl fell silent, going pale as a ghost as her gaze landed up on the top of the hill. Almost, as if instinct, the other three whirled around in horror and fear.

A woman, dressed in a turtle neck sweater and black pants, marched down the hill, slender fingers curled around a tablet. Alexandra, from her view in the back, almost could picture her as a lioness stalking her prey.

"Merde," groaned Adrien, hiding his face in his hands.

"Play dumb," hissed Chloe softly, ocean blue Alexandra found herself growing anxious as Ms. Sancoeur scolded each child before her blue gaze landed on her and she backed up, arms flying up to protect her face, instinctly movement from having Lila around her.

"While I am not pleased that these three drag you into this," she began, lips pressing firmly together. "It appears that you have had a rough morning. Let's get inside before Mr. Agreste notices that I am gone. “Eyes watching the approaching woman. ”Ms. Sancoeur might not know why we are here."

The woman, now revealed to be name Ms. Sancoeur, came to a halt a few feet from them, one hand on her hip and stared from the older three teenagers that reminded the purple haired girl of her mother before her passing. She tapped her foot, fierce blue eyes casting a guilty presence over the teens.

"Who's first," she asked, voice tight and needle sharp.

"Good morning, Ms. Sancoeur," Chloe greeted, forcing herself into English so Alexandra could understand. "We weren't expecting to run into you."

"I wasn't expecting to hear that Adrien never returned to class after being interviewed," explained the woman in a deadly, calm voice.

"Nathalie," Adrien began, voice cracking. "But Alya, Chloe, and I can ex-"

"Do you know how terrifying it is to get a call from the school to tell me that my nephew didn't return to class instead disappeared off campus? I thought someone or something hurt you, Adrien. With Hawk Moth still running around and akumas becoming more and more dangerous, it takes one careless mistake for you to get-"

"We were fine," Alya muttered under her breath, moving her gaze to her converse.

"IT JUST TAKES ONE CARELESS MISTAKE FOR YOU OR YOUR FRIENDS TO GET HURT OR KILLED!" Ms. Sancoeur snapped, taking a step forward and eyes falling on Alya. "You could have been kidnapped, or you could have been killed, or even better yet caught in the war path of another poor akuma victim."

Alexandra found herself growing anxious as Ms. Sancoeur scolded each child before her blue gaze landed on her and she backed up, arms flying up to protect her face, instinctly movement from having Lila around her.

"While I am not pleased that these three drag you into this," she began, lips pressing firmly together as something flashed behind her glasses. "It appears that you have had a rough morning. Let's get inside before Mr. Agreste notices that I am gone."

With a quick nod of understandment from the other three, they were all ushered into the manor. Once they were inside the door was closed and Nathalie Sancoeur stood in front of them.

From behind the older three teens, the fourteen-year-old was stunned by how spacious and large the entrance way was. The floor was a rolling marble that looked freshly waxed. On either side of her were tall, red potted ferns that lightened the tense atmosphere. This was nothing like she was used to.

Back when her mother and father were alive, they lived with in a small three bedroom house. There was enough room for her parents to have their own room and her two little sisters, Filly and Minnie to share one while she shared a bedroom with her twin sister, Marley. But that all changed now with her living in Paris with her guardian, her Aunt Nadja Chamack. She now shared a small bedroom with three little girls and a bed with her twin sister while her aunt got the smallest room.

"So who would like to explain why, Nathalie got a phone call from the school saying my son skipped classes," a masculine, stern voice asked as a man approached them. "Or should I just separate you and ask one person at a time?"

"We had people take us out of class, Father," Adrien began, meeting his father stern gaze with determined one of his own. "From what Alya, Chloe, and Alexandra told me, they were very cruel to them and brought Alexandra to tears because of them pushing her beyond what she wanted to talk about."

"After going to the interviews," Alya quickly added in, glancing at her friend's father. "We didn't feel comfortable going back to Ms. Bustier's classroom."

Adrien's father's cold, gray eyes raked over them before falling back on Alexandra as she tried to dig the bottom of her crutches into the smooth marble, not wanting to take a tumble to the ground. "While I do not agree with this approach, I will not punish, you four," he said with a solemn nod before crossing his arms. "But we will be having a talk during lunch though," he added. "Now, go up to my son's room and stay there until I or Nathalie call you down for lunch."

"Yes, sir," the three teens said, turning and starting to make their way to Adrien's room.

Blue eyes watching as the three disappeared up the massive staircase, Alexandra hung back, scuffing one of her shoes against the floor. Now, in the private home of Adrien, it felt wrong. Like she shouldn't be here while the other two, Alya and Chloe, had earned their place sometime in the distant past. Standing there, she glanced down at her feet again, shoulders slumping as she thought of what she should do.

Thinking about it her situation and accepting an invite from someone who was almost a stranger to her, made her feel uncomfortable. Like she had gotten to excited before agreeing to come with.

Quickly assuming her plan, she started to leave. It would be better if she left. It wouldn't be impossible for Alya, Chloe, and Adrien not to notice her disappearance. They only known her truthfully for an hour or two. They wouldn't care.

She was about to reach for the door handle when someone cleared through throat. Pausing, she turned around, seeing Mr. Agreste and Ms. Sancoeur looking at her. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting longer," she said, speaking quickly in English. "I just wanted to make sure Adrien, Alya, and Chloe got here safe and sound. Can you tell them that I left? I don't want to warm out my welcome."

"From what it sounds like," the personal assistant began, blue eyes meeting the girl's own. "That Adrien, Alya, and Chloe are expecting you upstairs with them. It would be rude for you to disappear and alarm them."

"Ms. Alexandra, would you like Nathalie and I show you my office," Adrien's father asked, trying to ease the tension in the young teen's body. "After that, if you still feel uncomfortable, I will have my family's personal driver give you a lift back to your home."

Alexandra shifted, fingers tightening around her holds on her crutches. Biting the inside of her cheek, she didn’t meet his gaze. From his calm voice and kind gaze, the purple haired teen could already tell he was nothing like Lila. There was no warning signs that caught her immediate attention like the first time she met Lila Rossi on her first day at school. Briefly, she considered how her life would have been if she had approached Marinette or any of the older three teens first on that first day, but that was quickly casted aside she glanced at Mr. Agreste. With everything pointing to his offer to be safe, she gave a short nod before beginning to follow the two adults to his office.

***

“This is where I work on my designs and fill out paperwork, the boring stuff, of being a clothing designer,” Gabriel Agreste explained as he held the door open for his adopted sister and the visitor of his son. Going over to his office chair, he settled down and glanced at the framed photo at the corner of his desk. “There isn’t much more than making calls and dealing with pesky seamstress who think they know more than I do than what I have told you,” he added, hands curling up on his lap. “You can take a look around, Ms. Cark. Just please refrain from touching anything though. I have several works in progress that shouldn’t be disturbed.”

The fourteen-year-old nodded. “I won’t touch anything sir.”

With her hovering around the open sketchbook and glancing down at an open sketch book, Gabriel asked at Nathalie who had settled on the edge of his desk with a smile. It had been many years since they had last the fourteen-year-old and could see the light returning to her eyes as she stared, enthralled, at the partly finished designs and old projects discarded to the side.

“This is really pretty,” Alexandra commented from the corner where one of his discarded protect, a butterfly themed dress, lay on one of the many racks littering around the office. “H-how did you make it, Sir?”

“Before your mother passed and during one her rare visits here,” Gabriel explained off handedly, leaning over and grabbing onto the childhood photo. “She’s not into fashion or that good with a needle or thread, but she had a creative eye. Katharine, bless her soul, was babbling about how she saw a pure white butterfly and got inspired. We spent the two weeks she was here getting all the materials and creating the drawing. I just finished recently and was preparing to fly out to Texas with Adrien for his winter break when I received word of what happened to her.”

“We’re sorry for you have to lose your mother,” Nathalie added, perking up as Alexandra stared at them, mouth open and vibrant blue eyes wide. “You look so much like her, Alex. You have her eyes and if I remember correctly, you have your father’s nose.”

Mouth still hanging open and dizzy, Gabriel thought for a moment she might faint but by the time he was too his feet, his niece had found herself a small resting area in the furthest corner from them. “I can remember you coming here when you were three,” he recalled, trying to calm the frightened girl down. “You asked me to make you a Princess Dress like Cinderella. Katharine scolded you than grew cross with me after I made you one a few days before you left.” He chuckled, seeing the realization dawn on her face. “You were about three and from what I was told refused to take off except for your fifteen minute bath each night and on Sundays so you could play cowboys with your Daddy and so Kathrine could wash the dress.”

“U-U-Uncle,” she said, pulling at the few, faded memories she had of spending time with her mother’s side of the family from her early years. Her father had big blowout with her mother’s side of the family when she had been four, if she remembered correctly, and cut ties with them completely. But she knew, in her childish innocent, that her mother took a few trips each year to see her little brother and sister for a few weeks to keep them updated on everything and had given birth to her youngest sister, Minnie, in Paris, France. It had caused much hostility in the house and was the last thing they spoke about before they passed away. “A-A-Auntie?” Blinking her eyes, she frowned. “D-Dad always said that you lived in squallier conditions and had very little money.

“While we may not speaking to our older sister, Nadja Chamack, Alex,” Nathalie began from where she sat on the edge of her older brother’s desk. “You are still mine and Gabriel’s niece and will always be there for you.”

“What my younger sister is trying to say whatever happened with that Lila Rossi girl will not go unheard,” Gabriel said in a serious manner, frowning when Alexandra flinched as if she was expecting to be struck. “We will be making sure that she gets the justice that she reaped and pay back for every moment she made you feel uncomfortable.”

Alexandra opened her mouth to respond when there was a knock at the closed office door. The soft question of “Father” came as Adrien popped his head in. “Have you seen, Al-“ His emerald gaze landed on the girl, who now was standing a few feet away from her aunt and uncle. “There you are, Alexandra. Chloe, Alya, and I were wondering where you disappeared to. I thought that you might have gotten lost since we accidently left you behind.”

“No, Adrien,” she answered back politely, shoulders drooping as she continued. “Your father and Ms. Sancoeur just wanted to talk to me about what happened between Lila and I.”

“Do you want me to leave you alone?” Adren glanced between his father and his aunt. “If not, Alya, Chloe, and I are about to start a new level on a video game. It has four players and thought you might want to join.”

“Sure,” she said, giving a glance to her aunt and uncle. “Which characters are left?”

“Well, we play as heroes,” the blonde model began as they approached the entrance of the office. “Chat Noir, Carapace, and Pegasus are the only playable characters left.”

“Save me Chat Noir,” Alexandra said, quickly waving to her aunt and uncle before following Adrien upstairs, smiling for the first time since she came to Paris.

***

By the time lunch had come, Alexandra felt more relaxed and like she fit into the group as they settled down for lunch at the large dining room table. The group of four teens were just starting to eat when Nathalie and Gabriel interrupted them, wanting to speak to them before they got too invested in their lunch.

“Before you four eat, Mr. Agreste and I wish to speak about to you very quickly,” Nathalie said as she glanced at the four teens. “It pertains to what has been happening at the school and with how the interviews played out today.”

“I took the liberty to contact your guardians,” Gabriel first explained. “And told them that you are safe and sound then also informed them of the interviews today. With some convincing, I managed to persuade all three of your guardians to allow you to go online until everything is handled,” he continued, glancing at the other three teenagers. “While the investigation is still going on, all four of you will be coming here every day to attend classes online and having tutors to come in on weekends to get your grades back up to where they were before this little incident."

“With that,” Nathalie said, turning on her tablet. “All four of you will be escorted by Simon and Ms. Bourgeois body guard if you are wanting to go anywhere beside the mansion. And Ms. Chloe, Ms. Alya, and Ms. Alexandra, you three will be given three backstage passes to accompany Adrien to his photoshoots and fashion shows if this continues that long. Until then, you will be guarded and watched over so that no one can bother you or try to contact you in any way that isn’t through us.”

“With that enjoy your lunch,” Gabriel said, nudging for his personal assistant to follow him out and allow the teenagers to have a moment of peace.

***

With the day drawing to a close, twenty-one year old Caline Bustier began to prepare for the meeting that Principal Damocles had informed her about. Gathering the necessary papers, she glanced as the last trickle of her students exited from the classroom, leaving the young teacher a few moments of peace and quiet. She had been informed that it wasn’t Marinette’s parents, Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng that called for a meeting but a distant relative that just appeared back in her life. Thinking of that, she wondered if that was the reason why Marinette had been acting the last few days and not being the good student like she knew the blue-black haired girl could be.

Grabbing her messenger bag and jacket for her walk home, the reddish orange haired student teacher locked her classroom behind her and made her way down the hallway to where the principal’s office was located. Giving a soft rap on the door, the twenty-one year entered and closed the door behind her. Once seated in front of the desk, the two school employers sat in silence until the door open. Turning around, they were met with the silence as well-known singer, Jagged Stone, opened the door and walked in, being followed by a pink haired woman and a professionally dressed man.

Blinking her blue eyes in shock, Caline glanced at her colleague. Both of them looked confused and shared the same question on why Jagged Stone and these two people where here for. Why would Jagged Stone be here to discuss something that pertained to Tom and Sabin’s daughter? Sharing one last look of question, Principal Damocles spoke first.

“Mr. Stone,” the middle school’s principal began, voice even as he spoke to the rockstar. “Not trying to be rude, but what are you doing here? We are here to speak to Marinette’s relative for a meeting. If you need to talk to us, it can be done at a later time.”

“I am here to discuss something that happened with my niece,” the singer said, putting a piece of paper on the desk, causing Caline to jump, startled. “This shows that I have temporary custody of my niece, Marinette, so I have a right to discuss what played out a few days ago in the classroom of Caline Bustier.”

Staring at the man and reading over the court sealed paper, Caline tried to process the information. “When did you get custody of Mari-“ he began.

“You put my niece into remedial classes without any proper test!” Jagged Stone looked disgusted as he began to pace the room, arms crossing over his chest. “While I may not be the smartest tool in the shack, I know that is illegal!”

“It takes too much time for that,” Principal Damocles explained. “For the better interest of the student, we placed Marinette into remedial classes so she would be able to graduate with her peers and not get held back. Her grades already have suffered enough as it is.”

“I have gone over your lessons that you posted online for your class,” the woman next to Jagged Stone butted in, lips pressing firmly together. “I, with a Masters in Litature and Communication, cannot understand over two-thirds of every lesson so I don’t know how someone like Marinette, who has shown to have some struggle in classes, but is still very gifted and brilliant can understand your lessons, Caline Bustier.”

“This is exactly what I mean,” the rock star snapped, looking more and more displeased with each passing second. “Before this year, Marinette had straight A’s and barely struggled in any class except for Earth Science. But now, this year all her grades are C’s except for the two classes that she has the most trouble in. It is those two classes that she has A’s in.”

“With what Mister Stone said about you putting Ms. Dupain-Cheng into remedial classes is true,” the man said with a nod. “I need to you give all your paperwork you have on Ms. Dupain-Cheng and the tapes from the incident that happened a few weeks prior with Ms. Lila Rossi and Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And if you don’t give them willingly, I will come back with a police warrant.”

“I will get them now,” Principal Damocles said as he led the way out of his office. “Right this way.”


	9. Chapter Nine

Kagami impatiently tapped her mechanical pencil against the edge of her desk, yellow-brown eyes staring at the block. She was in her last class for the day and there was only a few minutes left before she would being picked up and taken back to an empty house for the evening. Her mother was out of the country, visiting some family in Japan if she remembered correctly, and wouldn’t be returning until the end of next week. With her mother gone and her schedule cleared until an uncertain future, she had the entire week free with nothing to fill her free time.

‘Five more minutes than do my own studies,’ she thought to herself, glancing up at front tosee her American History professor babble on some tea party or some battle that was a turn in the freedom of the colonies. ‘Five more minutes then can focus on the information that I want to study.’

The dark blue haired girl sighed as the bell rang, stopping her professor in the middle of his lecture. Gathering her textbook and other school items, Kagami placed them into her bag and zipped it up, heaving a strap onto her shoulder. Pausing only to deposit her textbook and items into her locker and to collect her homework from earlier classes, the Japanese teen exited from the school building and found her personal driver parked at the curb. Gripping tightly onto her straps, she slipped inside. “Good afternoon, Mr. Drake,” she greeted with a forced smile, dropping her school bag on the seat next to her. “I’m ready to head back to the house now.

“Your mother has informed me that there was last minute schedule change,” her family’s personal driver began, starting the car and pulling away from the curb. “You have your afternoon and evening free to spend the time with your girlfriend. I will be there to pick you up at 9 on the dot. While you may be spending time with your girlfriend, your homework must be finish before school tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Kagami perked up. Marinette hadn’t been in school that day and wasn’t answering any of her calls. She had been planning to phone her mother as soon as she got home to plead to go over and check up on her, knowing only the mention of her girlfriend would sway the choice. “Mari and I can do our homework together,” she said after a moment of thought. “She’s better with American History than I am and I can help her with her Lit homework, if I can understand the teacher’s lecture.”

“If you are having troubling understand them, then you could just call Miss Marinette’s tutor,” Mr. Drake suggested as they stopped in front of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. “I think, she might be able to make some sense of the teacher’s rambling lecture…” Seeing that she was about to get out, the family’s personal driver held out a card to her. “Your mother wanted me to give this to you. Said that you should take Miss Marinette out to somewhere or do something with her. With everything going on and her going to speak to her father, I think your Mother worries about you or Ms. Marinette getting akumtized so I think being pampered a little bit wouldn’t hurt, Miss Kagami.”

Surprised and shocked, she took the card, holding the card against her palm as she got out. “Thank you, Mr. Drake,” she said, closing the door. “I will call you if we get done early or possibly need a ride to get across town.” Waving a quick hand to him, she turned around and entered the Dupain-Cheng bakery, not wanting to keep her girlfriend waiting if she was expecting her.

***

“I can’t believe your Mother is actually letting you eat cookies with no limits or adult supervision.” Marinette shot her girlfriend a forced smile before giggling, trying to keep her normal attitude for the sake of Kagami. She had enough on her plate as it was and didn’t need the fifteen-year-old to add more worry. Blinking her gaze and trying to keep the tears at bay, she slipped the receipt into her pocket, wanting to keep her parents from finding it. Sighing, she turned to look at her girlfriend. They had just gotten back from an expensive organic store across town after spending two hours on homework and now were in the process of making organic Sugar Cookies and its icing. “In the past, we had to be approve of the number of cookies that we allowed to eat before we even came close to the kitchen.”

“Ever since you first told her off...” Kagami smiled at the memory and found it hard to believe that it was only eight months ago. It was hard to believe that she, after only knowing Marinette for a few months, would be in such a serious relationship with her but now, after five months of dating, couldn’t imagine a life without her. “My mother has lessened her leash on me and now trust my judgement on many things. She learned that I am more than old enough to make my decisions and trust me enough to go to Japan for a week.”

“Why did she go to Japan for?” Marinette looked up from where she had been starting to open one of the many cupboards in the kitchen. “Did something happen?”

“She’s pist,” was what Kagami confessed from where she was now taking out the ingredients for the sugar cookies from their bags.

“What is she pist about?” The French-Chinese girl bit her lip, nervous. “Did I do som-“

“She’s not pist at you, my Yuka,” she reassured her girlfriend. “My mother might not show it, my Yuka, but she cares about you and is making sure that the school, and whoever pays for what they are putting you through. She cares enough about you to go to Japan and face her father, the person who through her out once she found out she was pregnant with me, to plead for his help with her legal team on your behalf, Yuka.”

“B-b-but how do you know that?” Marinette looked up from where she was beginning to prepare the equipment for when they started baking. “Ever since coming into your life, it seems that I cased you problems.”

“While there has been some hurdles, you have made my life better,” Kagami reassured her, yellow-brown eyes looking up from where she was arranging the supplies. “But back onto topic, are you sure don’t need a recipe card, Yuka? I’m not doubting your baking abilities but I’m still learning about baking and everything.”

“With watching Manon, August, and Etta and Ellie, I have memorized the recipe from top to bottom,” she said with a soft, hesitant smile. “I’m pretty sure that there would be a riot if the kids had to wait a few extra minutes for me to set up the ingredients. Now combine the flour, baking soda, and sugar with this.” She held up a device and turned the handle on the side. “Into the bowl with two eggs and a half cup of butter. I will do the wet ingredients.”

The two fell into silence as they began to work. Between the instructions of the recipe and the guidance of Marinette, it only took a half an hour to prepare the batter and place it into the oven. With Marinette turning the dial to bake and closing the oven door, Kagami moved the dishes they dirtied to the sink that was filled with soapy water. “Should we wait to do the frosting until they are made? Or ice the cookie when it is still warm.”

“We should wait until the cookies are cooled down a bit. If we frost the cookies when they are still warm, it could melt the frosting and make a mess.”

The Japanese girl hummed in reply when she began to scrub the first bowl within her reach. Behind her, Marinette began to close up all the bags and putting them into proper places when there was a loud bang from over their heads. While Kagami looked startled and grasped tightly onto the rubber spatula as if it was a weapon, Marinette just calmly sighed and looked towards the trap door as one of her three partners jumped down, landing on the balls of his feet. “Good afternoon, Princess!” he greeted with a broad smile, looking at the ground. “Some of my responbility got cancelled in my civilian life so I have some free time and had a little birdy talk to me. I want to tal-“Emerald eyes widening as they landed on Kagami, Chat Noir paused misstep, almost tripping over a leg of a chair in his shocked state. “Who is this?”

“Yuka...” Kagami found her voice before glancing at her girlfriend who was groaning and pressing her face against the island. “Umm does this happen often? I mean having one of four protectors of Paris coming to you and visiting you at your house?”

“Fucking Sprites,” she groaned, preparing to bang her head against the wall as her other partner, Queen Bee, burst in from upstairs. She looked worn out and ready to go and stab someone with her weapon. “Not that I am not happy to see you, but what don’t you understand of spending time with my girlfriend, today!”

“That is not important,” Queen Bee said, stalking over to where Chat Noir was standing. “Someone told me that you are having a hard time at your school because of your teacher and classmates. Give me names, their addresses, and I will make them rue the day they messed with you, Mari.” Finally getting a good view of Kagami, she frowned, bristling.

“Sprite help me,” she groaned as she stood up straight. Seeing the three other people in the room close to attacking each other, Marinette almost wanted to curse to the Gods than take some headache pills as her temples begun to throb, either from her nerves or the unease that rolled onto her shoulders. “What else can hap-“

“So should I be expecting Rena Rouge to appear any moment,” Kagami said, trying to keep her voice even when she noticed Marinette beginning to panic. “Or the one turtle themed hero that appeared a few times, my Yuka?”

“Say my name and I will be summon,” he fox themed hero snickered as she slithered into the apartment through an open window. “Who is this Marinette? Have we met her before?”

“Mari?” Kagami turned to her girlfriend, seeing her ghostly skin tone and how her body shook as she slid to the ground. “Yuka..” Crouching down at her side and resting a hand on her shoulder. “Can you hear me? Is there anything that I can do? Just tell me and I will make it happen.”

“I..I..” Marinette threw herself into the arms of her girlfriend, finally letting the built up emotions the past few hours fall onto her. “I can’t do this anymore, Kagami! I can’t keep living a double life with Ms. Bustier’s classroom and with you and the others. I can’t do it anymore.”

From behind her, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee all casted each other a glance. Each of them looked like they were ready to kill someone but it was Chat Noir who spoke first, voice gentle and soft.

“Princess,” he began, hesitating from where he stood. “That is why we came to talk to you even though you told us to stay away. D-do you want to talk or we can come back later.”

“P-P-please stay,” the girl simpered as she blinked her red bluebell eyes, sniffling. “It was about time that you got to meet Kagami. She is very much part of my life as you three are.” Pressing into her girlfriend’s side, Marinette took a deep breathe. “Kagami you know the three partners of Ladybug. And Rena Rouge, Chat Noir, and Queen Bee you have probably met Kagami at some point in protecting Paris the past two years.”

“It is nice to meet you,” Kagami said, giving a small smile, leading the shaky French-Chinese girl over to the couch as the others gathered around on the coffee table or on either side of the couple. “If you are really important to my Yuka then, I guess we will be running into each other here from time to time.”

“Nice to meet you,” Rena Rouge said, perched on the back of the couch as she rubbed Marinette’s back comfortingly. “I hate to bring this up but could you explain what is happening back at your classroom? The more we know, the more we can assist you in any way possible.”

“Noo...” She gave a shake of her head. “There are too many people involved as it is. I don’t want Hawk Moth trying to target me or anyone I know because of my actions.”

“Hawk Moth will be dumb to come after you,” Queen Bee reassured her with a snarl. “With us and Ladybug having your back, he would be an idiot to come after you,” she said with a hiss, fingers clenching around her weapon as there was a sharp ding from the kitchen.

“The cookies are done,” Kagami said as Marinette got to her feet, hesitantly following after her girlfriend. “Should we just eat them now, Mari? Instead of waiting to frost them and let them cool.”

***

Kagami knew that her girlfriend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, had parts of her life that even her parents didn’t know about. But she wasn’t expecting to come over and be making cookies to find her girlfriend have three of the four protectors of Paris to show up at her house or to claim to be the “Guardians” of the baker’s daughter. Nor was she expecting to see them act so childish and immature as Chat Noir and Queen Bee fought who would get the last cookie that was left on the plate or how Marinette looked unfazed by their roughhousing or how Rena Rouge was snickering, adding playful commentary every few seconds.

“Yuki..Are they ac-“

“Yes,” interrupted Marinette as she reached over and plucked the last cookie from the plate. Breaking it into half, she offered the other half to Kagami who took it. Eating on half of her share of the cookie, Kagami glanced at her girlfriend. “They are just teenagers like us, Ombre. They act professional in front of cameras and the press but here they act their age.”

“It’s Marinette’s turn to pick out a movie,” Rena Rouge said as Marinette detangled herself from where she was resting beside her girlfriend. Picking up an American movie, The Notebook, she popped it in as others let out groans of annoyance. Settling down beside her girlfriend, the group of teenagers prepared for the movie night as the first scene appeared on the screen.

“Let’s eat,” Marinette said once she noticed how her three partners had perked up at the mention of food. “Before the moochers say that I am neglecting them.”

***

Marinette held tightly onto Tikki as she ran down the street, heart thumping in her chest as she grew close to her parents’ bakery. From behind her, an approaching figure, silhouetted by the cold rays of the rising moon, was closing into onto the desperate girl. “You will give me your Miraculous back, Ladybug!” The voice of an older man, appearing in his late eighties, called as the girl pulled on the front doors of the bakery, but found them locked and the lights turned off, signifying that the shop was close. “You have fought long enough and have proven you aren’t worthy of your title as Protector of Paris!”

The black-blue haired teen, despite her best efforts of tugging on the handles of the doors and fleeing, found herself trapped on the ground and her crimson sprite pried from her hands, her sobbing pleas and whimpers gong on heard. Through her tear stained vison and shaking body, the former Ladybug Miraculous wearer could see one of the small paws of her Kawami, Tikki, reaching out for her as she yelled, “No, Marinette!”

“Please don’t take Tikki! You can’t take her away from me! Paris needs Ladybug and Ladybug is me. Who will protect Paris and cleanse the akumas after the battles if I can’t transform?” A sharp sob, sounding like a demon’s cackle wracked her body. “Please don’t take her Master!”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” the figure, the Guardians of the Last Miraculouses, loomed over her. “You have proven yourself not to be worthy of a Miraculous and by my power as the Guardian, I strip you as the title of Ladybug and deem you unable to ever don another Miraculous again!”

From where she say on the ground, body contorted into an unusual position, Marinette trembled as a wave of cold washed over her, her bones aching and limbs growing stiff. “T-T-Tikki,” she simpered, tears dampening the collar of her blazer. “P-please do something to stop this! Tell him that he is making a mistake.”

Now, back under the full control of Master Wang Fu, Tikki was blinded by the disgust and rage that consumed the man. Flinching back, repulsed and disgusted, she narrowed her once kind, vibrant blue eyes, scornful and cold to the person she once saw as her daughter. “Master Fu was right,” she agreed, shattering what little hope the teen had left. “I should have returned to him many months ago! I deserve a better chosen then you and will get one now!”

“T…T..Tikki..” Marinette’s whimpering pleads fell onto deaf ears as the Kawami floated over to Master Fu, settling down onto his shoulder. “Please don’t leave. I…I...I will get better. Tell me what to do so that I can become a good Chosen. Please don’t leave me! I can become a better Chosen! Please don’t leave me, Tikki!"

Tikki snickered, cold and mocking, as she pressed into the crook of Wang Fu’s shoulder, not giving her former Chosen a second glance. “You should have come sooner, Master Fu,” she said in her high pitched voice as Master Fu turned away from the sobbing girl and began his long trek back to his massage pallor on the other side of Paris, far away from the Dupain-Cheng bakery and their insolent bratty daughter. "You don't know how hard it was to deal with her pathetic squabbles."

"You don't have to worry about her anymore, Tikki," the old man promised, glancing at the Kawami as the sky above of them broke out in a weeping downpour of what had just played out. "I have found a better Holder in a Ms. Lila Rossi who will work better with Chat Noir and serve Paris in a better light than the previous one."

"Good," Tikki praised as they disappeared into the distant downpour.

Behind them, still sprawled out on the cold pavement, lay Marinette. Body sore and throbbing, the fifteen-year-old French-Chinese teen sobbed, bringing her scraped and bleeding hands to cover her face, trying to hide her flaming cheeks and red tinted eyes from anyone who may pass by. Having Tikki abandon her, Master Fu stripping her of her title, and finding out the person who isolated and manipulated her, Lila Rossi, was going to be given her Miraculous because of her superiority “Tikki,” she wailed, only be answered by the distant rumble of thunder and the rain pouring down upon her. “Tikki, please come back!”

\---

Marinette woke up with a loud, starling gasp, almost mimicking a fish gasping for water. Feeling the tight hold of her girlfriend wrapped tightly around her waist, the Miraclous wearer, barely managed to wiggle herself free before she crashed onto the floor, shockingly not disturbing the four teens that lay sprawled out on the couch and coffee table. Gently pushing the tail of Rena Rouge out of her face, the fifteen-year-old crawled from in between the sleeping teens and sprang to her feet. Fighting back tears of sorrow, she raced up her ladder and entered into her loft bedroom, a sob building up at the back of her throat.

“Tikki,” she called out, voice cracking and tears slipping down her ashen cheeks. “Tikki!”

“Marinette?” Head popping up from the drawer where she slept with her cat pillow, her small sprite guide frowned when she saw her shaken appearance and tears dampening the collars of her black blazer. “My Little Bug, what’s wrong? Did something happen with Kagami or your partners?” Her large bluebell eyes scanned over her shaking form, trying to find any sign of injury but found nothing. Getting no answer, she quickly added. “If you don’t tell me what happened, I can’t help you, Mari.”

Marinette flinched as if Tikki had threatened to strike or punish her out of anger instead of being worried and wanting to help her. “I…” She whimpered, blinking her teary eyes. “I had a very bad dream, Tikki. A very bad one.”

“Was it like Sandboy?” Tikki flew out from her hiding place and pressed into her cheek, trying to comfort her. “Or was it the same one you had after Master Fu’s passing, Little Bug?”

“M-M-Master Fu was back and he wanted to take you away,” explained Marinette, sinking to the floor and drawing her knees close to her chest. “And after he broke my bond, you said I was a terrible Chosen and was happy to become the Kawami for Lila because she would be a better Ladybug than me.”

Tikki, appearing like she was ready to bite someone, frowned and shook her head. “Master Fu isn’t the guardian anymore, Marinette,” Tikki assured her gently, humming softly in a foreign language that the distraught girl didn’t recognize. “You are the Guardian and no one can take me away from you. We are bonded and cannot be forced apart unless you disown your right to be my Chosen.”

Wiping her tears away on the sleeve of her blazer and taking a small breathe as the tightness in her chest began to fade, the black-blue haired teen sniffled. "What about the Order of the Guardians, Tikki?" she said, looking at the crimson sprite as she settled into the cup of her palms coming together. "After defeating Feast, they were brought back and someday, they will come and demand that I renounce me being Guardian and give you back. What will happen then?"

“What did I tell you, Little Bug?” Tikki floated up from her cupped hands and stopped a few inches from her face. Paws crossed together, she gave a firm frown. “I will always be by your side and nothing will change that. Come hell or high waters, I will be by your side. No one can force me away from you. Even if I have to face Hawk Moth myself or scream at the Orders of the Guardians, I will not let anyone force me away. With everything we have gone through, I will not bond with another Chosen as easily as I have with you. It is very rare to have a powerful Holder as you are, Little Bug, and if any of my former Holders could see you, they would agree with me. Now, wipe your tears and blow your nose. Once you are done with that, you are going to go back downstairs and go back to sleep on the couch with your friends," Tikki told her. "While you are sleeping downstairs, I will be up here, sleeping in my drawer if you need me.”

“Okay...” Doing as she is told, Marinette glanced once more at her Sprite Guide before heading downstairs. Seeing only her girlfriend left and a note from Rena, briefly explaining that they had to go back to their homes before their parents noticed they were gone. Curling up into Kagami’s lap, Marinette pulled one of the discarded blankets over her legs, succumbing to the sleep that fell onto her shoulders.

***

It was the evening after her friends, Adrien, Alya, and Chloe, and a new girl, Alexandra, had come for a few hours to visit, bearings gifts to uplift her mood. While their visit was short and brief, it had enough to bring a small pep back into her step until she prepare for patrol that evening. It would just be her and Chat Noir tonight. Queen Bee had some conflict in her civilian life and Rena Rouge had to watch her younger siblings while her parents went out to celebrate their anniversary.

She had been too focused on going over the routes that Chat Noir and her decided to patrol that evening to take a moment to check the weather report. So when she came to a shuddering halt in one of the crooks of the Eiffel Tower, drenched from the rain, she flopped down onto the beam, wiping the rain trickling down her face to keep it out of her eyes.

“Of all days it has to rain in the evening,” she grumbled, using her gloved hands to wring out her twin pigtails with a scowl. “Why couldn’t have it waited to rain until early in the morning after patrol is done? Couldn’t have it waited another hour or two when Chat Noir and I were dry and warm in our own homes?”

“Good evening to you too, My Lady.” Her only male partner, Chat Noir, appeared in front of her, nearly causing Marinette to stumble and fall off of the beam. If it wasn’t the quick reflexes of the superhero teens, she would have fallen to the concrete floor below. “Be careful, Bugaboo. You could have gotten hurt.”

“I’m okay, Kitty,” she said, catching her breath and trying to calm the thumping of her heart. “I don’t think that we will be patrolling tonight, Chaton. Do you just want to call it a night and head back to our respective homes?”

“How about we stay here and wait for the worse of it to pass through,” he suggested as he went over to one of the drier spots on the beams with his partner settling down a few inches from her, giving her some personal space. “I want to talk to you about something, My Lady?”

“Well, until the rain stops, we have time just to talk, Kitty. What do you want to talk about?”

“Well…” Chat Noir angled his body so he could get a better view of his face, his emerald green eyes glowing with hesitation. “I’m sorry if this is too personal but during the last akuma attack, I’ve noticed how hesitant you were and how you looked moments away from crying, Bugaboo. Did I or the other two do anything without realizing it? Or is there something in your civilian life that you want to talk about?”

Marinette flinched and sighed, shoulders slumping and elbows pressing into her sides. “There is quite a bit of things that is happening in my civilian life,” she admitted, starting to tear up. “It’s been very stressful the past day or two, and being Ladybug and protecting Paris is not helping, Kitty. While I love getting to know you, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee, I don’t know how long I can handle this stress much longer.”

“If you need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to talk to, Ladybug, I am here,” he offered with a short smile. “And am just a quick phone call away if you ever need time just to forget about our civilian life or being a Protector of Paris.”

Marinette opened her mouth to respond when she noticed how quiet it was gotten. Lifting her head and being greeted with the sunlight filtering through the dark, looming clouds overhead, she smiled. “Thank you, Chaton,” she said, standing up and reaching for her yo-yo where it was located on her hip. “And how, the first one to the Luve doesn’t have to bring snacks for next patrol,” she called, pushing off the slippery beam and casting out her yo-yo, jumping from building to building. From behind her, almost getting drowned out from her gleeful laughter, Chat Noir cried, “That’s not fair, My Lady.” But as they bounded over the skyline of the darkening city, there was no complaints as for the first time in the last fifty hours, she actually felt like she had control and could be a teenager.


	10. Chapter Ten

By the time Marinette got dressed, ate her breakfast, and checked her communication device to see if there were any messages from either Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, or Queen Bee, it was time for her to leave for school. Wrapping her thin, black jacket around her, she hesitated in the entrance of her parent's bakery as she noticed the drizzle from the black, stormy sky. Before becoming Ladybug and receiving Tikki, she loved the rain and was known to run through it just for fun but now, after finding out she was very sensitive to cold and water, she avoided the rain like it was the plague and took short showers instead of her former long ones. "Tikki," she hissed, seeing her parents were in the back and no customers were trying to get in. "Do you remember where I put my umbrella a few weeks ago?"

Her small crimson sprite popped her head out from her clutch. Her wide, brilliant blue eyes glanced at the rain, now becoming a roaring downpour, before giving a shake of her head. "I was trying to keep you from falling into hibernation, Marinette," she explained, recalling the last rain shower had happened at the start of an Akuma battle. They barely had been able to make it back to her school before detransforming and the effect of the cold starting to force her body to shut down. It had been the dumb luck that Rena Rouge and Queen Bee had been on their way to visit her when they saw her stumbling, barely covered by the umbrella, towards her parents' bakery. "It must be in your bedroom somewhere. You still have a few minutes before you have to leave if you want me to help you to look for it."

"I..." She trailed off as her father stepped into the front part of the story. "Papa," she said, stepping away and letting the door swing shut. "Do you have the spare umbrella in the back storage room? I can't remember where I put mine from when it rained last."

"Stay here." He sat the tray of cookies he was putting into the display and disappeared into the back. Tom Dupain was only gone for a few minutes before reappearing with a Ladybug and Chat Noir themed umbrella in his grasp. "Make sure to return it once you get home from school today, Marinette. Your mother will need it when loading up the deliveries into the back of the car."

"I will," she promised, holding the umbrella away from her.

"Have a good day in your new classroom," he called as Marinette exited from the bakery and into the pouring rain.

The black-blue haired teen flinched as the cold, damp air struck her. "Hopefully, it will be warm in the school," she muttered to Tikki as she began the gurgling three-minute walk to the front entrance of France DuPont. "If not, my hibernation cycle is going to start again. I barely made it through two weeks ago."

"It's not that far, Mari...” Tikki held her head out from inside the clutch, hidden by the long side of her Chosen's clothes. Gently patting her pink skinny jeans with her stubby paws, the Kawami tried to comfort her. "At least think of being switched to a new class that Lila won't be there to bother you anymore."

Grimacing at the thought of being pushed to her remedial classes today, Marinette almost felt close to screaming. She and her tutors had worked so hard to keep her grades up so when she finished eighth grade, there would be a chance to get her into a private high school sole just for Art and Creative Subjects. But now, with her being put into remedial classes, it would make it hard to get into remedial classes as most private schools don't have a special education program. "We will see, Tikki," she whispered as she stopped at the entrance of the school. Shaking the umbrella, she tied it shut and stepped inside, following the directions that her new primary teacher, Ms. Mahko, had emailed to her the previous night.

Moving through the crowded hallways towards the back of the school, she found herself coming to a flight of stairs leading down to the basement. Taking a deep breath to calm the thumping of her heart, she approached the door. Once she knew Tikki was hidden from sight, she opened the door and walked into her new classroom.

The classroom, while big, seemed to enclose on her and made her sick with the bright colors and children's songs in the background. Her new classmates, a few around her age but many were older, were scattered around the room. Many were jammed towards the back of the classroom, watching a static TV with a monotone cartoon flickering on the screen. Others were dotted around the tables, working on papers or skimming through thin books that appeared way too young for them to be reading but she knew better to judge. There were others her age or older who were just starting to understand the basics while she was lucky to be mostly on the same level of her peers.

Hovering by the door, she watched as a woman, just a few years older than herself, approached her. The woman was wearing a bright colored outfit that almost made the rising Fashion Designer flinch and had a black plated nametag attacked ton her shirt that read, “Ms. Mahko.”

“You must be Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” she said in a sickly sweet voice, brown eyes taking in her appearance. “The headmaster told me that you might be a bit late but you are such a ‘Good Girl” for being on time.”

“Good morning, Ms. Mahko,” she greeted, holding her clutch tighter as she felt Tikki vibrating against her calf. There wasn’t much that got her Kawami angry but hearing someone talk down or belittle her Chosen was one of them. “I would have been earlier but I had to find the spare umbrella in my parents’ storage area.”

“That is quite all right by near.” Pressing a hand to her back, her new primary teacher led her to the front row. “This is where you will be sitting once “Free and Exploration Time” is over. There are some activities set up if you want to do them or there are some blank pages and markers on the table if you want to color,” she added as she drifted around the room to talk to a few other students away from her.

Settling down at her assigned spot, Marinette sat her school bag at her feet and put her clutch and Tikki on her lap. Meeting her gaze, Tikki looked close to flying out of her hiding spot and scolding the woman. From what she could remember from when she first got Tikki, the Kawami had always stressed that she was more than what others say and that she should never listen to the teachers who put her down. Now, when she was close to her lowest points, hearing someone who was supposed to raise her, instead of talking to her as if she was a young child and raising her below than what she was, infuriated the small crimson Goddess. “You don’t belong here,” she hissed in anger. “Just from that one little introduction, I can tell you’re not going to learn anything. You don’t belong here, Marinette.”

Lips pressing together, she glanced up, worried someone might have overheard Tikki’s rant. Once she saw no one was approaching or looking at her, the French-Chinese teen swung her head back down. “I know that, Tikki,” she whispered in a soft, whispery voice. “But I have to stay here until something is done. Until then, I will just have to keep my head up and pray that nothing happens with Hawk Moth.” She closed her eyes, elbows pressing into her ribcage. “Uncle Jagged, Aunt Penny, and Ms. Tomoe said they are working on it.”

Tikki’s cheeks puffed him. “I still don’t like it,” she muttered.

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, only to raise her head at the sound of the primary teacher moving up front and clapping her hands together. Sitting up straighter and letting her hands move away from her clutch she turned her attention upfront, not wanting to get reprimanded in front of the class.

“Free and Exploration time is over with,” Ms. Mahko said with a final clap of her hands. “Now please go to your seats as we are about to start our first lessons for the day.”

There were several groans from over the classroom and some muttering, ‘Lessons are so boring’ as the students went to sit in their designed seats. Once everyone was settled, a frazzled teacher’s assistant scurried across the room and flicked the lights off as the teacher projected something onto the whiteboard. “Today’s lesson,” began the primary teacher. “Will be learning about Hot and Cold Temperatures.”

Marinette, along with many others, groaned as the teacher began to start with the first slide.

As the lecture began to drag on, Marinette found herself growing bored and her gaze wandering around the classroom. It was decorated with bright flashing Christmas lights and had posters with childish and brightly colored festive scenes with the approaching holiday coming she didn't think it wasn't to be expected. But the warped, partly leaning figure of a forcibly put together snowman in the corner gave her the creeps and seemed moments away from shattering to pieces. Keeping her bluebell gaze on it, she drew Tikki to the other side of her and tensed up, preparing for the moment to announce its waning to her and teammate's Miraculous as if it was an Akuma victim.

"It's not real,' she muttered under her breath before turning around and digging through her school bag. After a few seconds of moving items around, she pulled out the new sketchbook that Kagami gave her a few days prior. With going over the boring lesson, she should make use of it and get some sketching done for some new designs she had been thinking of.

She had started with the simple sketch of a winter jacket for herself and her teammates. With the colder temperatures getting to herself, Queen Bee, and Rena Rouge, she had been planning to make them proper coats to use while patrolling or if they were fighting Akuma that could be able to flip inside out to wear in their civilian life. To a semi-experienced designer like it, it was fairly simple designing but the hard part was making it big enough to keep out the cold but not large enough to interfere during battles. There would have to be several testers before she decided on a full design to give to the other team members. If she worked hard enough and the akumas didn't cause much a stair, there would be a chance to give them out on Christmas Eve.

‘I should find some bells to put on Chaton’s jacket,’ she thought with a smile as she stared at the sketchbook’s page. Having bells on his jacket would make it easier for Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, and herself to hear when he approaches at night or to help them distract the Akuma if needed. ‘Then I will add some extra, soft lining for Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and myself. That would help us battling the cold when it gets colder and darker earlier.’

She had been so focused on the designs that she didn't notice the approach of one of the assistant teachers until a hand was placed on her shoulder. Flinching away and preparing to drop into an awkward fighting stance in her seat, Marinette dropped back onto her seat once she noticed who it was. "Y-Y-Yes," she stammered, cheeks heating up as the assistant gestured to her sketchbook. "It's my notebook."

"You are messing around in your notebook without paying attention," the assistant said, taking the notebook away from her and placing a small stapled bundle of papers in front of her. "Since you joined us so late into the semester, you have much to get catch up on. Please try to get about five pages of work done by next Monday. But if you only get a page or two done, that will be understandable."

Gritting her teeth, Marinette, stared at the papers, flipping through them to see it was rather basic work. "These are easy," she said, seeing the teacher starting to turn to leave. "Where are you-"

"You will get this back at the end of class," she said, going over to the teacher's desk in the corner and sitting the sketchbook in the center before settling at her table.

The rest of the morning passed in the same fashion. Boring and slow as the p

rimary teacher and teacher’s assistant went over each lesson and took a moment to ask a few questions from each student. Towards the end of the third period, they allowed the last ten minutes to be used as quiet time to allow them to rest and do a few questions on the worksheet that was handed out.

With the last ten minutes to kill, Marinette pulled out one of her special, lucky pencils from the inner part of her bag and began to thumb through her “homework”. Many of the pages were work that she remembered working on with Manon a few weeks ago after picking her up one day from daycare. While it had come very easy and boring to her, it had flustered the poor girl until she managed to break it down and explain in fun tasks. So looking at the one hundred page packet, she sighed with boredom and began to go through each page, taking a few moments to properly write her name on each page before going on to the next.

It was the gentle bump from Tikki on her outer thigh did she realize that it was almost time for class to be out. Putting away her pencil and stuffing it into her bag, she impatiently tapped the top of her desk as the bell rang and everyone began to wander out of the classroom. With most of her temporary classmates out, she jumped to her feet and went over to her teacher.

“Can I have my sketchbook please?” she asked, standing in front of her primary teacher’s desk. “The assistant teacher said that I could have it once classes are done and it’s done for the two-hour lunch break.”

“Here is your little book back,” Ms. Mahko said, holding the black moleskin book to her. “I know you may struggle or grow frustrated during lessons, I don’t want to see you scribbling in notebooks or on paper unless instructed by myself or Ms. Rosa. You’re not being productive and won’t get anywhere in life if you don’t learn to pay attention.”

“They aren’t little scribbles,” she muttered, holding her sketchbook close to her chest. “This is what I use to sketch out the first look of the designs that I want to do.”

“I suggest, if you don’t want to have lunch detention and not eat, you leave now before I lose my temper, Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” Ms. Mahko warned as she turned her attention back to the pile of paperwork on her desk. “Make sure to be on time after lunch because we will be working on an important lesson.”

Scampering across the classroom, shoving her sketchbook into her school bag, and putting the straps onto her shoulders, the rising fashion designer dashed out of the classroom so she wouldn’t make her girlfriend, Kagami, waiting that long with Chloe, Adrien, and Alya in Chloe’s limo. While they were going online, they still made an effort to be part of her school day and spend time with her during lunch as promised. But today would be different. Instead, she would be spending the lunch period with her Aunt Penny and Uncle Jarred as her parents no longer allowed to have any contact with them.

Stopping briefly at her locker to grab her sketch for the latest commissions that she was working on for them, she hurried out of the school and clambered into Chloe’s limo before heading over to her father’s hotel for the next two hours.

***

“Is something bothering you, Yuka?” Kagami weaved her fingers through her girlfriend’s own as Chloe’s limo pulled away from the school. With it being lunch hour, it would take them twenty minutes instead of the normal ten, to reach her father’s hotel. “You’re quiet and seem upset? Did something happen between you and Lilia today?”

“Wait.” Chloe turned around to stare at her friend from where she sat between Alya and Adrien. “Wasn’t your first day in the remedial classes today, Mari?”

“Yes, and I hate it!” Unzipping her school bag, she pulled out her bundle of papers and threw it in the center of the open floor. “This is supposed to be my homework for the next few days to catch up with my new classmates!” She crossed her arms, tears of anger burning in the corner of her eyes. “Many of my classmates were bored by the lessons that Ms. Mahko and Ms. Rosa did. Those women aren’t preparing students for high school or once they age out of the remedial classes. All they are doing is pleasing Mr. Damocles and allowing him to pad his pocket with the extra grants for the remedial classes!”

Adrien, first to break from the trance that was put on the group, wiggled himself out from the tight space between the edge of the seat and Chloe. Standing up, he walked over to the bundle and picked them up. Flipping through them and glancing over some of the first few, he looked up, appearing green in disgust and red in anger. “Aren’t these the same kind of papers that you were working on with Manon a few weeks ago?” he asked, fingers crunching up the papers.

“They are almost the exact copy,” the fifteen-year-old admitted with a sigh, rubbing her temple with her free hand. “The only difference is that they are bigger pictures and more space between the questions.”

“You are going to fall behind,” Alya voiced their option, crossing her arms over her chest. “By the time you are taken out of those classes, you will have to repeat the year because of the actions of Ms. Bustier.”

“Alya!” Chloe scooted over and placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to the present. “You need to calm down before you attract an Akuma. I think Ladybug and Chat Noir are enjoying their short lapse between battles and I don’t want them to call off their vacation early. I doubt you will want that to happen either.”

“You are right,” she agreed with a sigh. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, the Ladyblogger exhaled and let her shoulders slump.

“And you don’t have to worry, Alya,” Kagami spoke for the first time in the last few minutes. “My mother and Adrien’s father have been working head and head to help figure out what the heck is going on with Marinette’s teacher and how the school system is being messed up. Whatever they tried to sweep under the rug will get exposed and the skeletons will be aired for everyone to see.”

“It hopefully won’t take that much longer, Marinette,” Adrien agreed, glancing at the younger girl as he settled back between Alya and Chloe. “Hopefully, by the time we get out for Christmas break, all of this crap will be cleared up and you will start over once we return for the spring semester.”

“Hopefully,” she agreed in a hum.

“Ms. Bourgeois,” called the driver from upfront as the car came to a stop. “We have arrived at your father’s hotel.”

“Thank you, John Paul,” the blonde teen said as she opened the door and clambered out. “We should be down here and ready to be driven back to the school in about an hour and a half.”

“Of course, Ma’am,” the personal driver said as he pulled away as Marinette closed the limo’s door behind her. “Enjoy your visit to your father’s place until I see you again, Ma’am.”

***

Fang had been resting beneath the coffee table when he heard the front door open. Thumping his tail excitedly against the floor, he scrambled out from underneath the table and over to the door as his owner, Jarred “Jagged” Stone entered with his wife and their adopted niece in tow. Gently nuzzling his muzzle into her knees, the crocodile let out a low growl in greeting.

“Fang!” The blue-black haired teen’s face lit up as she knelt and threw his arms around him. “It’s been so long since I have seen you,” she said as she pulled away to pat him on his back, fingers dancing over his green scales.

As he pulled away from Marinette and got a better chance to catch her scent, the crocodile couldn’t help but recoil at the bitter odor that overrides her normal cinnamon and citrus smell. Careful not to frighten her, he seized hold of the cuff of her blazer and tugged her towards the couch where his large doggy bed and blanket were under the table. Once he was in front of the coffee table, Fang nudged Marinette onto the couch with his table as he fetched his blanket from where he left it laying.

Once it was on her lap, Fang pressed into her legs, growling softly as if he sang a lullaby. When he heard the low giggle and the pleasing cinnamon scent beginning to return, he relaxed, still grumbling softly as he rested his head on her shoes.

“What did you do with, Fang?” she asked Jarred, glancing up at her honoree aunt and uncle. “He’s never been this attentive to me as like now.”

“He is worried about you,” Penny explained as she entered back into the room with a takeout menu and her cellphone pressed against her ear and shoulder. “He is the same way with me after...” She trailed off before clearing her throat. “After Jarred and I lose the baby last year just a few days before meeting you, Marinette.”

“I am sorry to hear that Aunt Penny,” the rising fashion designer said, scratching Fang on his head as her uncle settled on the other side of the couch, holding his guitar on his lap. “Are you working on a new song, Uncle Jarred?”

"More like I am working on an old song but rewriting it," he explained to his niece as he tapped onto his strings and muttered a few words under his breath. "I wrote it just before I asked Penny to marry me and never did reveal it to the public. After everything that has been happening, I thought of this song and want to rewrite and publish it with an album that has been taking several years to make."

"Who is your muse?" she teased softly, bringing her knees close to her. "Is it Aunt Penny?"

"No," he responded, smiling. "It is you, my little rockstar."

"Jarred," scolded Penny with a playful nudge. "You don't want the press to hear you say that. Especially after what is playing out currently."

"That that way, Pen, darling," the rockstar explained. "Do you want to hear some of it, Mari? With the events happening and you, just being you, being my muse, I would love feedback from you before pitching it to my agent."

"Sure!" Marinette perked, eyes flashing with joy. It was rare that Jarred would show her any songs with the lyrics before they were released. "I would love to hear it."

_Would anyone notice the pain that is hidden?_

_Would anyone chase me and say the words that I need to hear?_

_That I'm no burden._

_Not so worthless._

_Bent so much that I just might break._

He paused, flipping a few pages ahead in his songbook before beginning to strum the guitar again.

_If you're dying to be heard_

_Sick of being unheard_

_Let me in, let me share in your deepest pain_

_From my whispers through the dark_

_Spoken straight from my heart_

_Let me give you a moment to speak_

_If you're out there still alone_

_If you're out there still going unheard_

_Would anyone notice the pain that is hidden?_

_Would anyone listen if you give a chance? Gave a chance, to tell the truth._

_The world would be changed if your voice was heard_

_Your voice can't be silenced_

_Right now is the time_

_When you let our roar be raised_

_When your roar be raised_

_When your roar be raised_

Marinette blinked her eyes, unshed tears burning in the corners of her eyes. "That was well written, Uncle Jarred," she said, wiping her tears away.

"It all came from you, Mari," he said, putting his bookmark into place and putting his notebook onto the coffee table. "Everything you have gone through has given me new inspiration to rewrite the song from seven years ago when it was first brought into conception."

“Okay...” Penny Rolling slipped her cellphone into her pocket. “The song was lovely, Jarred,” she began, going over to her honoree niece and placed her hands on her shoulders. “But Mariette is here to get her mind off of what is happening currently. How about we go down and eat at the restaurant a few blocks from here? I think we all deserve to have some pampering with everything that we have been through.”

“I don’t have any money,” Marinette began to protest.

“I will pay darling,” Jarred Stone said as he stood up. “I will grab my coat and then we can head out Pen.”

***

The restaurant was just a simple hole in the wall food place and not one that her mother and father would take her. Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain liked going to the more popular spots to compare their bakery’s pastries to the higher end food places. So going to this back alleyway food places was an entirely different experience for the fifteen-year-old.

"Have you ate here before?" she asked her aunt and uncle as they were given their menus before the waitress went off to help another set of customers while they figured out what they wanted for the meal. "It seems to be rather hidden and hard to find."

"Believe it or not this was where your uncle asked me to marry him," Penny said with a playful nudge to her man-child husband. "This is one of the few places that have the best Césaire salads and I have missed them from when we tutored the United States. I don't know if it’s the dressing or just the way they grill the chicken, but this is the best place that has the grilled Cesar salad that is the closest I can get from the store in the United States."

"The few times my mother could afford it," Jarred began, eyes skimming over the menu. "She would take me here and split the soup and grilled cheese with me."

Humming with a nod, she moved her gaze over the menu. Almost every item or dish sounded good to her and made her mouth water. After having the boring morning she had with the three lessons, Marinette thought of giving in her guilty pleasure and having some extra carbs. While it would do her some good with being Ladybug and running the patrols burned up most calories she ate during the day so any extra carbs would benefit her. “This all sounds good,” she said to her aunt and uncle who were already done deciding what they want to eat. “I don’t know what to choose. Do you have any recommendations?”

“Well, with how thin you are, Mari, I would suggest-“ Jarred Stone began.

“Jarred,” Penny chided her husband. “That is just plain rude!”

“Like I was saying,” he went on as if his wife wasn’t scolding him. “You are a bit thin and I would suggest something like the three meat and cheese language and some garlic breadsticks to give you something extra.”

“Marinette, excuse your uncle. He can be a bit rude at times,” Penny reassured her niece. “But if you are really hungry, they have really good hamburgers and fries here. They are big enough that you will always have food to take home with you to finish at another time.”

"Are you ready to order now?" Their waitress, a college student named Angie, asked as she approached with their drinks. Once they were given to their proper person, she pulled her waitress notebook from insider her apron. "What can I get you for today?"

“We are ready,” Penny said, taking their menus and placing them on the edge of the table.

***

Marinette sat on the couch and leaned against one of its arms, her legs at an angle so she could place her sketchbook on her lap. She was lost in the details in the jackets she had been planning out during the morning lessons before Ms. Rosa had taken her sketchbook from her. Rena Rouge’s and Queen Bee’s jackets were done and now she was focusing most of her attention and energy on getting the more detailed version for Chat Noir’s before going out to get the fabric she would need later in the week with Kagami and Adrien.

Looking over the bridge of her sketchbook, she was met with the sight of Fang resting half on the arm of the couch and half on the table next to the arm. Ever since they returned from eating out, the reptilian had refused to leave her side and only did after Jarred forced him to go on a short ten-minute stroll with Penny down to the lobby to have someone at the front desk to mail off some papers. Almost soon as she had let Fang off of his leash, Aunt Penny had received a call from the front desk and gone down to talk to them. That was almost twenty minutes ago and she had yet to return.

“Uncle Jarred?” Marinette raised her bluebell gaze from her sketchbook to look at her honoree uncle as he sat at the piano in the corner of the room. He had his songbook open in front of him and a pencil in his mouth. Jarred Stone had been focused on his task at hand that it took a moment for Marinette’s call to register. Once it did, he looked up. “Aunt Penny isn’t back yet? Should we go and track her down?”

“There is nothing to worry about, my little fashion designer,” the rockstar promised as he scribbled down some notes on the page. “Pen told me that there was something important for her to take care of in the lobby. Knowing her, she won’t return until you are about to leave to head back to school for your afternoon classes.”

She grimaced at the mention of afternoon classes. “Okay, I guess,” she said in uncertainty, moving back to her designs in hesitation. Aunt Penny had never disappeared this long while she was visiting during her lunch breaks or meetings. “If you say so, Uncle Jarred.”

She had just begun to get back into her zone for her designs when the door to the opened and Penny strolled in, shoulders up, and eyes brighter than they had been before her second trip to the lobby. Closing the door behind her and getting the attention of her husband, the woman held up a vanilla envelope for the rockstar to see. “We got some good news,” she said with a large smile. “Very good news.”

Distracted and curious, Marinette closed her sketchbook and sat up straighter, pulling her knees closer to her. Seeing more area free on the couch, Fang crawled the rest of the way onto the couch, allowing only his tail to rest on the coffee table. Once he was situated, he let out a rumbling yawn before going back to sleep. “What is the good news, Aunt Penny?” She looked at her aunt, curious what could have gotten her so riled up and excited.

“As what my favorite little fashion designer has said,” Jarred said, closing his song lyric book and rising from the piano. “What is the good news, Penny? Has Bob Roth finally come crawling back after all this time? If it is, tell him no. Nobody doesn’t pay my little fashion designer and get away with it.”

“First, no it’s not about Bob Roth,” Penny explained, glancing at her husband. “And secondly if he came back here, I would sick Fang on him faster than he can say “I’m sorry.” What he did to Marinette was unstainable and he will not ever do that to her again as long as I can keep him from contacting her.” Approaching her husband, she held a document out to him which he took and flipped through, skimming it and nodding in approval. “But the good news is that the papers have arrived from the lawyer. I spoke to him briefly over the phone, and he says that from what he went over, we will have a good chance of winning this case.”

“What papers?” Marinette craned her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse but Jarred had put them behind the piano. “Is something happening, Uncle Jarred, Aunt Penny?”

“There is nothing that you have to worry about, dear,” Penny reassured the girl as she glanced down at her cellar device. “But speaking of something to be worried about, if you don’t leave now to meet your classmates to head down to the limo, you will be late for your first-afternoon class.

“Yes, Aunt Penny...” Marinette sighed and began to gather up her art supplies, putting them into her school bag and zipping it shut. Heaving the bag onto her shoulder, she gripped tightly onto the straps before she prepared to leave. “Will I see you later next week?” she asked, pausing in the threshold to glance at her aunt and uncle. “Or are you leaving to tour another country for a few months soon?”

“We will be staying in Paris for the next month or two,” Penny Rolling replied once checking their schedule on the tablet before turning off the screen. “There are a few things that we need to take care of before we can go and tour another country.”

“Okay..” Marinette smiled at the thought of spending the next month or two by visiting her aunt and uncle during her lunchbreaks. “I should be going now.” She placed her hand on the doorknob. “Bye Aunt Penny, Uncle Jarred. I will see you next week sometime.”

"Wait, Marinette!" Jarred got to his feet once more and walked over to his niece. Pulling her into a hug, the famous rockstar held her close. "Don't forget it, Mari. That Penny and I are very proud of you, my little rockstar," he said as he rubbed her back affectionately before taking a step back and she stepped out into the hallway.

With one more last glance at her aunt and uncle where they stood, the middle school student let the hotel door close and walked down the hallway, taking the five flight of stairs down to where Chloe, Adrien, Alya, and Kagami were waiting in Chloe’s limo for them to return to France DuPont for the afternoon classes.

***

Once his honoree niece was left, Jarred turned to his wife of seven years. “That was too close,” he said to Penny as he went over to the couch and plopped down where his niece had been moments before. “Marinette has too much on her plate to know what you and I are attempting to do, Pen. I don’t want to make her stress or worry more than she already is doing.”

“Marinette can handle more than you give her credit for, Jarred,” Penny reminded, picking up the documents and going to sit beside her husband. Nudging Fang off of the other end of the couch, she settled down, crossing her legs as she had her elbows on her lap. “But either way, she deserves not to get her hope up when we aren’t sure how it will play out yet. So, I do think we made the best decision. If everything goes as we hope, we can sit down and talk to her after Christmas and explain why we did it and want we want to do for the future.”

“But anyway, when is she supposed to be...” He trailed off, glancing at his wife as she flipped through the first document with interest. “I mean when everything is supposed to start going into action more than the boring and dull court hearings that we have been attending the last few days for this document to be put into effect.”

“According to this...” Penny trailed off, placing her reading glasses on. “That the process will start in about twoish weeks depending on how the investigation goes first. If it is bad as we told them, they will start the process sooner in case the safety of Marinette is at risk.”

“Good, it will be soon then.”

“Yes,” Penny promised. “In about two weeks, give or take a few days, everything will start coming to the forefront for others to see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that Jagged Stone sang to his favorite little designer is inspired and based off this song, ‘Would Anyone Care’ by Citizen Soldier. It started playing when I had been trying to think of what song to write based on his niece after everything she is going through. While it doesn’t follow it exactly, I thought it struck a chord with me of how in a way it was close to what Marinette was going in my story.
> 
> And as for the “remedial classes”, while they are blown out of proportion, it Ms. Mahko is based off one of my former teachers for my special education classroom that I went to during middle school. If you have read the comments in the chapters, you would have noticed how I compared her to being my own Caline Bustier and partially one of my two Lila Rossi’s that I had to face off against during my younger years. So writing this story, in a way is therapy for me, and I am glad that people are enjoying it.


	11. Chapter Eleven

When she woke up to the first day of her second week, Marinette noticed how excited her Kwami was as she buzzed around the room. Rising from her bed and settling down in front of her computer, the pigtailed girl yawned, sleepily blinking. “What are you so excited about?” she mumbled to her friend as she began to gather her showering supplies. “It normally takes two cookies and a few sips from my morning coffee for you to be coherent.”

“I just have a good feeling about today, Mari!” Tikki settled on her shoulder, hidden by her baggy shirt, as she made her way to the downstairs bathroom. Telling her parents she was using the bathroom, she slipped in and locked the door behind her. Once Tikki was hidden in her blazer’s pocket, she undressed and stepped into the shower, hissing as it hit her bruises from the recent Akuma battle. “It feels like something is going to be different today than previous days!”

Giving a shake of her head, Marinette chuckled softly. “Maybe it’s a sign that everything isn’t going to suck this week,” she responded after a quick five minute shower and stepping out into the steamy bathroom. Once she was dressed and stored her dirty clothes in the hamper, the teenager hurried downstairs, choosing a Danish and breakfast cookie for her and Tikki to eat. Bidding good farewell to her parents, she ran across the street, tightening her hold onto her winter jacket, and dashed across the street, wanting to be on time for once.

Arriving at the classroom just a few minutes before the bell rang to Ms. Mahko writing their daily schedule on the board and assignments that they would work on while they prepared for placement testing in a few days. It was this test that Marinette could hope to take as it would finally show that she was almost a grade level and should be with her peers. Dropping her school bag at the feet of her desk, she sat in her desk, seeing that they were to split up into groups and take notes for the short story, Samantha’s Wish, with two or three people. She barely had a chance to move before a girl named Marley and a boy named, Souta cornered her before she could grab the story from inside her folder. With pleading looks, they begged to be a group.

Pulling her notebook and short story out, she settled in, allowing the two to crowd more around her room. While Marley, a few months older than her, was misplaced into the remedial classes as her, Souta, and needed more help than what the teachers were giving. If he was given enough time to look upwards he didn’t understand and have someone to remind him to remain on task, Marinette have a feeling they both could be in a normal classroom like her.

“Does it seem like they are trying to cover their asses?” Souta remarked as he opened his own notebook and prepared to take notes. “They have never given us task like this before. It’s always been those crummy preschool papers matching colors and shapes. For Hawk Moth sakes, my three-year-old sister can do most of them without any assistance.”

"Souta," scolded Marley, elbowing her friend in the ribcage. "There are others who...” She trailed off, trying to think of the correct phrase. "That tussle with those basic things."

"Struggle," Marinette corrected softly. With this being her second week, she had quickly learned that Marley, a student originally from the United States, struggled with vocabulary and Souta, who had just gained his hearing from a colder implant several months prior, were the top of their class, making her more and more disproving of France DuPont. She, with the permission from Tikki, was going to speak out about her wrong placement once she was removed and it was water under the bridge. "But South is right through, Marley. They are trying to cover up them not meeting the needs of the students that are part of their classes."

“Anyway, let’s get on doing this stupid short story,” Souta muttered, slipping into his raspy voice. “I am going to be lucky if I understand half of this crap.” He sighed, resting his chin on his elbow as he stared at his own copy of Samantha’s Wish.

“I’m with Souta,” Marley added, flipping through the ten page packet. “It’s more complex than what I have learned so far.”

“Do you just want me to explain the plot?’ she asked, flipping open her notebook. “I read it the night before with the help of my aunt, and highlighted some words that I didn’t understand. You guys can just copy my notes and jolt down a summary that I give you.”

“The story is about a girl who lives in a Post-Apolicpyse, also known as end of the world, where people have Mutant powers are considered low class citizens and devalued to servants and slaves. Sami, also known as Samantha, is one of the higher classes who help keep her powers, talking to animals, hidden from others in fear of their status being threaten. But one day, returning from school, a domesticated lioness cub approaches her, explaining her owner, the son of Asgodsh, is suck beneath a beam in a burning house. Knowing her standing in society could be threatened, she gets help and reveals her powers so that the child can be saved. Revealing herself and hiding her true powers, she is arrested and set to be punished. Her punishment, sent to death by hanging, is slated to happen of dawn the next day. As she prepares to die, people, from every social class, protest and shows that she, supposedly raised by selfish and snobbish parents, are nothing like them and risked her life to save Alexander. It is after much protest that they release her and give her a warning of her using her powers for her own well, she will be punished and sent away to the other realm. It is this story, Samantha’s Power, reminds me of how sometimes the biggest sacrifices are the ones who are meant with daggers and trouble while greed and darkness is meant with daises and roses.”

While Souta and Marley copied down her summary, Marinette could easily relay this back to what she was going through. While Lila was met with the praise and jubilant praises from most of her flick, Marinette, the savior and protector of Paris, was met with the look of disapproval from her peers and the scorn of her teachers. Every day, in her civilian identity, she was close to tipping and being punished for actions that were not fully caused by her. Hopefully, her people, her allies, would be there to stop her before she was close to crashing.

“This kinda reminds me of Hawk Moth,” Souta commented, bringing Marinette back to the present.

“What?” The fifteen-year-old was shocked. “How does this remind you of Hawk Moth?”

“There are some who praise him,” Souta said, beginning to write down the vocabulary words in her notebook as Marley finished up the summary. “And they jeer at the “performance” of Ladybug and Chat Noir as they fight and criminalize their “Savior”.”

Marinette grimaced as she turned her attention back to their groupwork. While the other groups, from what it sounded, were struggling and barely made it past the first page, the French-Chinese teen and the other two students had finished and wrapped up their work with about three hours to spare until lunch.

After packing up their bags and going to their respective seats, Marinette turned her attention to her sketchbook, wanting to finish the final sketches of her teammate’s outfits she were making. With her hands occupied and doing busy work, it wasn’t hard for her mind to wander. It had done this many times the past several days with her getting done with her busy work faster than everyone else and being unable to escape to the bathroom except for her bathroom breaks to fight against akumas, which had been one time, since joining the remedial classes.

The thought of lack of akumas made her simply frown but it was the busy work that was assigned as her “homework, angered her. Her teachers, Ms. Mahko and Ms. Rosa, had assigned her more pages to keep her busy throughout the school day and several dozens of pages to do during her lunch and after classes to get her “catch up” with her peers. It was these homework pages that caught the attention of Jarred Stone and Penny Rolling who were growing more and more frustrated when they were informed how long everything was taking for her to remove from the class and be placed with her peers.

"Class!" Ms. Mahko stood in front of the classroom, clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention. "With how hard you guys are working today, Ms. Rosa and I have decided to let everyone out early as a reward. But this doesn't give you permission to arrive late back to the classroom after lunch." Forcing a bright smile on her face, her hands fell to her sides. "Now, you are dismissed," she added as she turned around and went over to her desk as the students leaped from their seats and began to trickle out of the classroom.

Marinette, meanwhile, carefully closed her sketchbook and tucked her into her bag. Once getting a bright smile from Tikki, she exited from the classroom and went to the front of the school, knowing that either Chloe and her driver or Aunt Penny, Uncle Jarred, and their driver would be there to pick her up for her weekly afternoon visit before returning back to school for the afternoon classes.

***

It had only been an hour after Marinette leaving when Penny burst into the attached bedroom where Jarred was practicing his guitar with Fang at his feet. It didn’t take this much to see how excited she was or how she was withholding big news for him to properly listen to her. So, placing his guitar on its holder and moving over to the couch, he allowed his wife to settle down beside him.

“The school board just called me!” Her announcement was met with curiosity form Jarred and a tail thump against the carpet from Fang. “They have decided, with their investigation, that Marinette was framed those few weeks before and Caline Bustier had no right to place her into the remedial classes as there was no testing done.”

“The lawsuits are ready,” Jarred said with a nod, recalling the emails and call he received earlier, just before they went to pick Marinette up from her school. “But from how excited you are, there has to be more than what you have told me so far.”

“The girl, Marinette’s tormentor, academic record is in tatters after everything that has happened,” she went on, eyes filling with anger and lust for revenge, something that Jarred had never seen in his wife before. Before this incident or meeting their darling niece, they had never thought they would be going to bat to fight against a school system or rejoice at the downfall of a minor as they were now. “With how bad her academic record is, they talked to the school’s headmaster and learned she had missed months of school because of her claiming to be traveling to her mother. With them learning this, they contacted her mother and talked to her, wondering why she would allow her daughter to miss school and take her on diplomatic trips when it wasn’t allowed most of the time. This is the point where everything falls into place, Jarred, honey. The girls’ mother, Mrs. Rossi, made everything clear to the school board. She and her daughter had never left Paris since they arrived eight months ago. And with her claiming all the injuries and disabilities, her mother denied everything, saying that she did have emotional outburst but she had thought the medicine she was on controlled them.”

Finished, Penny laid her hands on her lap as Jarred let out a cry of victory, springing from his seat and smiling. “Finally,” he cried, looking years younger than he did moments before. “Have you heard back from the other lawyer about the case?”

“Yes.” Penny pulled her tablet out from where she stored it in her purse. Powering it up and going to her email box, she opened it. “Sesbiasian says that with all the information that they are recording, it should be in the next two or three weeks when everything comes into head. However, he is pushing it to happen before Christmas so that it won’t happen over the holidays.”

“Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later,” he agreed with a nod. “My little rocking fashion designer has been through so much the past week or so. She deserves to have a chance to celebrate properly for Christmas.”

“I am already working it out so that we can have a short visit with her over Christmas break,” Penny added, smiling at her husband. “I contacted Clara Nightengale and Cherile Ace as they have been expressing interest in meeting our niece and I thought it might be a nice networking opportunity for Marinette for once she is out for school during the summer so she can take a commission or two.”

“When is the board meeting together about this at the school?” he added as he began to settle and strumming at his guitar once more to distract him. “With matters like this, I am thinking that it will be today rather than tomorrow or later this week.”

“According to the email, they will speaking to the principal and Caline Bustier once school lets out for the day,” Penny answered quickly, skimming over the email. “And effective tomorrow morning, Marinette can return to her regular classes and have a substitute teacher until the end of this fall term and a new full time one once spring semester starts.”

“Should we talk to her about switching schools?” Jarred Stone had thought about this many times and had researched many schools that he knew Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng couldn’t afford in a million years. Already, he had been setting money aside to pay for her future tuition. “There are quite a few who are more than willing to take in a student like Marinette with how smart she is, especially after this all comes to light.”

“I think we should wait before going that far,” she suggested, putting her tablet back into her purse. “For now, let’s just keep an eye on this situation and handle it one day at a time.”

“Good idea,” he told his wife, getting to his feet once more and wrapping his arm tightly around him. “Hopefully, this will be the start of a new, happier times for Marinette once that teacher, liar, and principal are dealt with.”

“Hopefully,” agreed Penny Rolling with a smirk. “If not, we will do something about it.”

***

As the final bell rang for the day, Marinette hurried from the classroom and approached her locker. Shoving her school bag inside and grabbing her sketchbook and pencils, the black-blue haired teen walked through the emptying halls to where the Art Club was at. This was her first time in almost a week that she had been permitted to attend after Kagami’s mother, Tomoe Tsurgui, fighting against the school’s principal and her new teachers for her to have a proper schedule. Entering the art classroom, she found most of her former classmates scattered around the room. Holding her items close to her, Marinette went to her favorite spot in the corner. It was the furthest away from everyone else but close enough to the entrance for her to slip away if there was an Akuma spotting. 

Once settled into the corner, she opened her sketchbook and began to give the finishing touches on a yellow and black themed jacket for Queen Bee. Her bee themed team mate had complained of how her father, distant and trying to buy her love, got her expensive jackets that were either too small or too stiff to allow proper movements during battle. It was this thought in mind that led to Marinette to making a two layer, faux fur coat, that blended well with the bright colors but also gave her adequate protection from the cold and the outer layer shed to give her better, fluid movements during battle. She couldn’t have been sketching longer than six or five minutes when the art teacher, Mr. Bassett approaching her. Seeing this, she flipped to another page that held a semi-finished sketch of a gown she had been making for Manon as a Christmas present. Even though she was crunched for time, the fifteen-year-old did not dare risk anyone besides herself and Tikki to see the designs for her teammates.

Coming to a stop beside her, Mr. Bassett leaned down and smiled. “Marinette,” he began, keeping his voice down to a low whisper. “Mr. Damocles just called me. He would like to talk with you in his office.”

“Right now?” she questioned, heart dropping into her stomach. “Or does he want to speak to me after Art Club, Mr. Basset?”

Mr. Basset placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “From what he said, it sounds he wants to speak to you now,” he explained, getting to his feet fully. “It sounded like it was an important meeting.”

“Okay...” Hesitantly, she stuck her scrapped paper between the two pages and closed her sketchbook. Pushing away from the desk, she glanced at her supplies. “Can I leave my sketchbook and pencils here until after the meeting?” she asked, tapping her foot nervously as Tikki gently bumped against her outer thigh. “Or should I bring them with me?”

“You should bring them with. With akuma battles happening, it might be safer to keep them on hand,” the art teacher advised, stepping back to allow her room to get up from her seat. “I will accompany you down to the office as I need to retrieve a few copies from the printer across from the office.”

Pulling her sketchbook and pencil case close to her, she rose to her feet, pushing the chair back under the desk. Biting the inside of her cheek to quell her panic, her mind flash a million worries a minute. It wasn’t hard for her to think of the worst scenario possible of hearing that Mr. Domiciles wanted to have a talk with her. Did he discover that he was Ladybug and wanted her to give up her Miraculous? Or did Lila spew another yarning tale that portrayed her into a negative light and the school’s principal was going to punish or expel her again?

‘Stop being so foolish and childish, Marinette.’ The small, confident voice silent scolds her as Tikki bumped her thigh once more, forcing her back to the present. ‘Just because the headmaster wants you to come to his office for a meeting doesn’t mean you are in trouble. Maybe he just wants to talk about you taking your placement test early or having you rejoin for a few mainstream classes. There is nothing for you to worry about.’

Lifting her head up confidently, she blinked her bluebell eyes and took a deep breath. ‘This will be no big deal,’ she thought assuredly. ‘I am going to speak to the principal and there is nothing to worry about.”

As they came to the hallway leading to the principal’s office, Marinette had calmed the thumping of her heart and felt like she was prepared for whatever was thrown her way. If she could handle Hawk Moth, she could this meeting with her principal.

“There is nothing for you to worry about,” she told herself again.

But still, she tightened her hold onto her art supplies, as Mr. Bassett opened the door for her and disappeared into the printer room.

Freezing in her step, Marinette felt like fleeing and facing off against an Akuma single handedly. Facing inside the principal’s office, she knew the meeting wasn’t going to be a good idea. Instead, it was a very bad idea. An idea that made her stick to her stomach and voice lost in her throat.

The parents of her friends were seated a large round conference table. Mr. Gabriel Agreste and Mrs. Nathalie Sanceur seated to one side with Adrien standing beside Alexandra, Alya, Chloe, and Kagami in he corner, speaking in hushed choices. Next to Mr. Agreste was Nadja Chamack, Alexandra’s guardian and Manon’s mother, sat with a frown as she kept her seat away from him. Seeing those three didn’t surprise her but the sight of Tomoe Tsurgui seated to the very side of the table, near Caline Bustier and Mr. Damocles, did shock her. She wasn’t expecting to see her girlfriend’s mother at the meeting but than as he thought of it, Kagami had explained she had been fighting for her return to mainstream classes. Turning her gaze, she took in the other people in the room. Three other people, two complete strangers to her and the other being Dr. Kindles, the middle school’s guidance counselor, seated at the other end, facing the teacher and school’s headmaster. Between Nadja and Tomoe were two empty seats as if there were two others to join the meeting yet.

Passing by, Mr. Bassett closed the door behind her, giving her encouraging push into the conference room.

Stumbling forward, she was met with encouraging nod from her girlfriend’s mother before she froze in her spot, frightened. Even with facing against the akuma victims or doing live interviews as Ladybug, she was never good with crowds or walking into a large room of adults by herself as Marinette. It frightened her and almost drew her into fleeing back to her bedroom.

One of the two people she didn’t reconized stood up. Giving her a reassuring smile, the man gave nod before speaking. “You don’t have to worry, Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” reassured the stranger after seeing the look of fear on the baker daughter’s face. “We are just a friendly group that is going to have a chat. When receiving your case and the witness statements of others, the school board and I have decided it was a good idea for all of us to get together and talk about the results that we have found out.”

“We are also sorry for surprising you too,” the other stranger, a woman Marinette had seen around the school the last few weeks. “But we didn’t want you to worry all day as you nor aren’t your friends in trouble. Please, go stand with your friends as we wait for the others to come back. And remember, we’re all here because of the actions of your supervisors, not because of you or your peers.”

The adults in the room were now giving her a comforting nod as she walked across the room and squeezed herself into the small corner between Chloe and Alya. Adrien stood in front of them, blocking them from sight as Mrs. Rossi and Lila walked into the room. It was the whimpers of Alexandra that drew the wobbly teen to stand behind them as Kagami stood beside her, trying to comfort her.

“What’s happening?” whispered Marinette once silence fell onto the room. Forcing herslf to turn around she faced her girlfriend and Alexandra as the others followed her lead, not giving Lila the attention that she craved. “I mean beyond talking about the case with the school board and them calling this meeting. Did they explain fully why we are included in the meeting?”

“I don’t know what is going on,” Kagami confessed once she met the worried gaze of her girlfriend. “I was preparing for my scheduled fencing programs when Mother came to get me before I could start changing into my uniform. She refused to tell me why I wasn’t going to fencing practice today besides that I am needed somewhere else and it concerns you so she thought it would be better for me to be there. So, I am clueless as you are Yuka,” she added, stepping away from Alexandra and pulling the French-Chinese teen to her side. “But is must be important if all our parents or guardians are here with people from the school board.”

“You will find soon,” Alexandra cut in, carefully choosing her words. “Aunt Nadja say it important.”

“What did Ms. Chamack say to you, Alex?” Adrien glanced at the girl as she tightened her hold onto her crutches. “Father and Aunt Nathalie refused to tell me what the meeting is about. The only thing I know is that the three of us were needed at the school at once.”

Marinette gave a curt nod as she faced the table of adults again as she met the dark, demonic gaze of Lila with a flinch. Even with the adults and her friends in the room, the teen knew that Lila wouldn’t go down without a fight and knowing her, the fifteen-year-old would go down with her in some fashion.

Shifting on the ball of her feet, Marinette felt her stomach churn and clench as she prepared for the investable battle that was soon to come. She prayed, no pleaded, that Tikki and the strength of the Kwamis of the other Kawamis would guide her when it came time to face her enemy in the future akuma battle by the hatred and negative aura rolling off her in waves.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Jarred Stone clenched tightly onto his wife’s waist as they entered the meeting room. Closing the door behind them, the famous rockstar walked over to the table. Pulling out the chair for Penny, he took his own seat as he faced the others at the table. Scowling at the sight of Lila Rossi glaring at his niece, he waited as Penny sat their vanilla envelope onto the table.

Ms. Blight, the head investigator, stood up, pushing her chair in as she went to the door, pushing the lock into place before settling back down. Once pulled up properly to the table, she reached into her messenger bag resting to one side of her chair. Pulling out a large binder, she opened it and looked up, speaking in a soft, mannered voice.

“Since I was contacted by the school to be the main investigator on the case that was placed on my desk, I thought it might be easier to do one big meeting instead of several smaller ones. With special circumstances as is going right now, I thought it would be better to keep the children safe and lower the risk of Akumatization,” Ms. Blight explained, beginning to gently flip through the pages until she came to the main case papers. “Would you like to start with the evidence that we got or hear what the parents have to say?”

Penny, gripping onto his hand beneath the table, gave a stiff nod, biting the inside of her cheek to keep quiet. As someone who went up and against people like Bob Roth and Alec Cataldi almost daily, she wasn’t frightened by the glare Lila Rossi’s mother was giving to the others. Instead, she was ready to throw herself at her and protect the girl who had become her niece. No one hurt Marinette and get away without unscathed.

Once she was certain she was going to keep herself from cursing, Penny sat up straighter and took a deep breath. “While Jarred and I really appreciate everyone coming here out of their busy schedules to talk, I wish it was on different circumstances. Ms. Blight-“ The purple haired moved her gaze to the main investigator. “Our main concern, apart another issue that we will cover later in the meeting, is that the school, who is supposed to be the best in this side of Paris, allowed our niece, Marinette-Dupain-Cheng, be expelled with no proper investegation or allowed her friends, Adrien Agreste, Chloe Bourgeois, Alya Césaire, and Alexandra Clark, to be harassed and have their bully enabled by their own Primary Teacher who threatened to punish them if they spoke out. It is this, as our main concern and no doubt to the other parents, is what is going to happen so this doesn’t happen ever again and what will resolve the issue.”

Silence hug over the room, weighting heavily on the children in the corner.

Just a few moments later, it was shattered by Ms. Rossi clearing her throat. “I don’t know what tall tales the other children told,” she began, lips pressing firmly together. “But my daughter, Lila, has is being used as a scapegoat for the blame to be placed off of the children.”

Ms. Rossi reached into her red, Prada purse that rested on her lap. Pulling out a blue folder, she laid it out on the table and flipped it open, pushing it towards Ms. Blight who sat across from her.

Ms. Rossi pulled out another paper from her purse. “Almost immediately after I enrolled her in France Dupont, she came to me in tears with those messages from a Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Ms. Césaire, and a Ms. Bourgeois, and not much longer after that, she had bruises from Mr. Agreste laying hands on her. The only thing that kept me from pressing charges or pulling her out of school, my Lila told me that she had started to see Alexandra Clark, a new transfer student who relied on her heavily since the school weren’t meeting her needs as they should be. So, in my response, how can you only go on the information you gathered without contacting me first? I have all my records to backup what my daughter claims. Most importantly, why haven’t you helped the students get catch up during the months they missed because of the incompetence of Ladybug and her lousy sidekick, Chat Noir?”

“What do you mean the months they missed?” Ms. Blight asked, confused. With an arched eyebrow, she flipped through her pages, trying to find the source of the information that Ms. Rossi was talking about. But when she found nothing talking about this, the head investigator raised her head up, asking, “Ms. Rossi, where did you come to think that the school was closed for months on end?”

Light hazel eyes narrowing in confusion and sitting up straighter to send a puzzled glance to her daughter, Ms. Lila stared at Ms. Blight for a moment as if she was trying to explain what she just learned. But by how her mouth open and close, Jarred assumed that she couldn’t wrap her head around what the head investigator had said. It appeared she thought very little of what was said and almost dismissed it after a moment with a shake of her head. “I find that hard to believe,” she answered in an icy voice. “My daughter, who never lies to me, that Ladybug and Chat Noir were incompetent with them being unable to protect Paris from Hawk Moth’s akumas. It was the joint choice of the Mayor and parents’ of France DuPont to close the school for the safety of the students.”

“Like I said, the school was never closed besides the holidays they planned at the start of the school year,” Ms. Blight responded, voice prim and proper. “While there were days where the school got called off or just had a half day because of the Akuma battles, we always came back to the next day unless it was a big event like Hero’s Day or Miracle Queen. Those are the only days that we choose to close for the rest week and the following week to give the students to recover and be able to recuperate from the stress they experienced during the battle.”

“Then why wou-“ Ms. Rossi trailed off before turning to face her daughter. “LILA ANGELINA ROSSI, YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!”

***

Lila Rossi flinched at the sharp, shrill anger of her mother’s voice. Stomach dropping, she took a step away from where she had been approaching Alexandra. She had thought if she got the girl to lie for her, than she might be able to save her hide. But, however, with her mother now starting to realize the truth, not even having Alexandra to lie for her would do anything to dull the damage. “Mother, I can explain,” she began in a weak voice, pushing forward a façade of a meek, terrified victim. Letting the crocodile tears slip down her face, she moved her gaze to her feet, pulling her elbows into her side to make herself look small. “The bullying had gotten worse and I couldn’t take it anymore. So I faked school being closed so that I didn’t have to face my tormentors. B-but then.” Sniffling, she glanced up at her mother. “But then Alexandra called me and saying that she was going to fail because the school system was failing her. So I pushed it all to the side so my girlfriend could move onto the next grade with me and not have to worry about our tormentors anymore.

“Bullshit!” Nadja Chamack leaped to her feet, knocking her chair over and going over to where her niece was starting to tremble. Pulling her teary eyed niece into her side, she kept her out of the sight of Lila Rossi. “Your daughter has done nothing but torment my niece until she told me that she didn’t want to go to school anymore. I could handle if it was only that but my niece, Alexandra, was just starting to recover after the loss of her parents. She had begun to smile again and get the color back into her cheeks but because of Ms. Lila Rossi she went back to how she acted when I first gained custody of her and her sisters.”

“Ms. Chamack,” Ms. Blight warned as if she was scolding a child. “While this does concern to the case, you could have done better to wait your turn instead of bursting out in profanity and bowing down to the level to a sixteen-year-old teenager.”

“Nadja is correct,” Jarred said, sitting taller as he glanced at where Marinette was attempting to hide behind Kagami. “Ms. Lila Rossi almost got my niece expelled. Getting expelled, if not reversed, could have gone on her permeant record and label her as a troublemaker when she is none of that. While I am very much agree that we should be handling this better, Nadja Chamack is the only one brave enough to raise her concerns and statements that are fact. Now are we just going to sit here and sugarcoat it or are we going to actually buckle down and talk about what is important?”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” A loud thump startled everyone as Gabriel Agreste slammed his fists onto the conference table, brining silence onto the room. “While everyone does have a valid point, we cannot let us get worked up. Remember, we do have a terrorist that uses any kind of negative feeling to create monsters that destroy, kill, and scar Paris with only two teenagers, Ladybug and Chat Noir, as our protectors. While they are doing a brilliant job, I think we shouldn’t let Hawk Moth have a mass akumatization because we, as adults, can’t control our tempers for a few hours.”

Ms. Blight sighed and gave a tight smile. “Mr. Jarred Stone does speak the truth,” she said with a nod, rubbing her temple briefly before turning the meeting back to the cast on hand. “Now as spoken, I think it would be better to explain what I have learned from the interviews from the children and the security cameras from when said events played out.”

Ms. Blight going to where she had the overall summary in her minder began to explain. Overall it was a close and shut case with having the interviews from the children, with the many missing months of Lila Rossi, and the evidence of the security problems. The Italian girl would be lucky if she got off with explosion and being transferred to another school as a light punishment. Getting those two punishments would be a slap on the wrist of what could happen if it went down the more serious road. “Overall,” she surmised. “Ms. Rossi has gotten herself a rather long rapt sheet and will have to play for the sins that she sewed. She will be lucky if she got a lower punishment of being expelled and transferred out of the school system.”

"Ms. Lila Rossi, Ms. Rossi, would you two like to add anything?" asked Ms. Blight once she closed her binder.

"Yes I do," Lila's mother said. "Lila Angelina Rossi, I thought you were a better person than this. But at the moment, my biggest disappointment is this school. I cannot believe that an innocent girl, who from what I could gather had no record, was expelled without no proper infestation or that you allowed my daughter to skip months and months of school with no call or that you believed her when she lied about injuries and disabilities that weren't listed in her file." Lila's mother crossed her arms and muttered something under her breath before turning to face her daughter who had gone back to her appearance of a scared and worried teen. “And you, young Lady! Did it ever cross your mind of how much trouble I could get into because of the lies you told? I could easily make me lose my job or Child Protective Services could take you away and place you into a foster or group home because you missed months upon months of school because of your lies? Do you understand how much trouble you caused or how you deeply affected and changed the lies of these poor people because they refused to bow down to your lies?” Ms. Rossi was seething. If it had only been her daughter and herself in the room, she would have brought her over her knee but with others it would have to be done later. “You are in a world of trouble, little Missy! Until I say otherwise, you are grounded to your room, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Mama," the sixteen-year-old muttered, bowing her head down in shame. "I understand."

“Now,” she began, clearing her throat. “Is there anything else that needs to be talked about or can I take my daughter home, and deal with all this crap that I just discovered?”

“Yes.” Nathalie Sancoeur stood up, smoothing out her black pencil skirt before taking a vanilla envelope from her older adopted brother. “There is much more that must be talked about.”

***

Straightening the jacket to his suit, Gabriel Agreste got to his feet, taking the envelope from his sister before approaching Ms. Rossi. “With you just learning about this, I would assume that you never knew about your daughter being contracted as a model for my brand,” he said, keeping his voice even as he glanced at where his son and niece stood. “With this new information coming to light and with her treating my son like a bulls eye and sexually harassing and threatening to rape my niece, I will be breaking my contract with your daughter.”

"What!" Lila's mother looked a mixture between shock and horror. Had her daughter been taken advantage off by being forced to work with this man without her knowing? "You tell me that you allowed my daughter, a minor, work for you without contacting me or getting my permission. Do you know how this will look if I take you to court, Mr. Gabriel Agreste?"

"Yes." The single father knew how it would work. But with the help of his sister and his legal team, he had already gotten a good defense for himself. "At the time of her starting to do fashion shoots, I was under the pretense that you signed her contact. But upon learning how deceit that she is, I will no longer be allowing her to work with my models or have her represent the Gabriel Brand."

“I will take you to court,” threatened the girl’s mother.

“Do try,” the man’s sister chuckled. “My brother’s legal team and I have come up with a rock solid defense. If you take us to court, it will be you who will be losing and risking CPS to be removing your daughter from your care once they realize how incompetent mother that you are. Shocking to believe that someone like you would be allowed to give birth and raise a child.”

"With what my sister is saying, I am here to present you this, Ms. Rossi." Pulling the envelope out, he sat it onto the table, sliding it towards her, knuckles turning white from his force on the paper. "It is my delight and pleasure to say that I am suing you, Ms. Rossi." Taking a step back, he smiled at the shock on her face. "For what your daughter did, I don't care risk them falling back onto my grand or onto my son."

"Not only the contract will be removed but also all the senses that she racked up from private fittings and or misplacing clothes," Nathalie went on, pulling out a perfectly dated bill and slapping it onto the counter. "But also having to cut her contract three years early, you will be sued for over two million dollars plus emotional trauma that your "precious daughter" caused to my God Son."

Lila Rossi, now standing beside her mother, got a devious look on her face. “I can always say that Mr. Agreste exploited me by doing sexual favors,’ she threated, olive green eyes narrowing. “Then when I finally refused, he fired me from his brand and is now suing my mother to cover up his tracks and to appear innocent. So, Mr. Agreste how do you want to play this out?”

“Oh, hell no!”

***

“Oh, hell no!”

Audrey Bourgeois leaped from her chair. Stalking over to where Lila Rossi stood in the corner, she loomed over her, hands falling onto her hips. She had kept her tongue when she berated her daughter and her friends and didn’t meet the fiery gaze of the girl’s mother with a lashing but when she threatened someone who she thought as family, than she was ready to throw hands. Glaring down on her, her blue eyes narrowed as if they were asking her to challenge her. “You will do no such thing Lila Rossi,” she warned, fingers digging into her hips. “If you do that, you will be sued not just by me but also Gabriel. You will not slander the Agreste name and get away with it!”

“How dare you threaten my daughter!” The girl’s mother went to stand between the designer and her sixteen-year-old daughter.

“I am not threatening,” she said primly, crossing her arms. “I am making a promise Ms. Rossi.” Turning around, she set her gaze on Marinette who flinched and hid into the side of Kagami. “Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” Audrey said, approaching the French-Chinese teen. “While you did turn down my offer for you to study in New York, you still hold much potential. Because of this, Gabriel ad I decided that we will be giving you a scholarship once you start going to school for designing.”

“What?” The black-blue haired teen appeared shock, bluebell eyes widening. “Why? What did I do to deserve this, Mrs. Bourgeois?”

“With everything you have gone through and standing beside my daughter and nephew,” Audrey explained. “With this scholarship, all your expenses will be paid and every two weeks you will receive a stipend that will pay for your rent, food, and any transportation expenses that you might incur.”

Speechless, the fifteen-year-old gave a shocked nod. “T-thank you,” she said as Kagami wrapped her arm tightly around her. “Thank you so much, Mr. Agreste, Mrs. Bourgeois!”

“You are welcome child,” Audrey said, smiling fondly before she settled back into her seat.

***

After Nadja Chamack hit Lila Rossi and her mother with two more lawsuits, it was Jarred and Penny’s turn to give the mother and daughter pair their lawsuit. Getting their feet and going over to the two women, Penny held an envelope out in front of her.

“Ms. Jenny Rossi, your daughter, Lila Rossi, is being sued for defamation and slander for her claim of being his “muse”,” Penny explained, slapping the envelope down in front of the women. “With your daughter only being a minor and cannot be sued by the law, this is now falling onto your shoulders as you are her guardian, even if you have proven to be an unfit one.”

“You have no proof if I even said anything,” Lila piped in from where she stood beside her mother. “So how does that sound?”

“On the contrary, we do,” Penny Rolling said with a smirk. “Three weeks after you were enrolled into this school, you posted to your Facebook page that you were the muse of Jagged Stone’s newest song, “Perfection and Rocking.” With your callous acts, you could have ruined my husband’s reputation and career. And if had been punished further, he could have got a jail sentence.”

“Young Lady!” Ms. Rossi grabbed the folders in front of her and stuffed them into her bag. Going over to her daughter and seizing ahold of her daughter’s hand, she prepared to pull her out of the room. “You are in so much trouble. Once I am able to get in contact with your father, all three of us are going to have a serious conversation on everything that I learned of what you have been doing the past year and half!”

“Ms. Rossi,” Ms. Blight interrupted, clearing her throat.

“What?” Ms. Rossi spun around, eyes calming once she saw who was talking. “Please forgive me, Ms. Blight. What is it?”

“Your daughter, Ms. Lila Rossi, is hereby expelled from France DuPont from this moment on,” the woman said, gathering up her papers and placing them into her bag. “And if she ever steps on campus, the school staff won’t hesitate to call the local police force on her.”

“I can assure you she won’t be staying in Paris or the country of France much longer,” the mother said, giving a quick nod. Turning her attention, now fiery, back onto her daughter, Ms. Rossi dragged Lila out of the room, yelling at her in what Marinette assumed as Italian.

With Lila Rossi and her mother gone, there was one last task to do before she could allow the children and parents to leave.

“Mr. Damacles,” Ms. Blight began, pushing her glasses further up onto her nose. “The board members and I have discussed and decide from this moment on you will step down from your position of this school and retire a few years early. Agree to do it without a fight, you will keep all your benefits. If you fight against it, we will tell the press of what you did. They will hear about how you showed favoritism towards Ms. Rossi and in the past, Ms. Bourgeois.”

The principal opened his mouth to protest but sighed. “Deal,” he agreed in a mutter.

“Then you will have five minutes to gather your belongings and leave the campus of the school or I will call the police for you trespassing,” Ms. Blight said primly as the former principal shuffled out, leaving only Caline Bustier. “Ms. Caline Bustier because of your cations of humiliating a student in front of her peers, allowing the said student to be removed from the classroom and placed into a class where her intellectual needs aren’t meant. And allow Ms. Rossi and in past, Ms. Bourgeois to bully Ms. Dupain-Cheng and her friends the past year and half of school. Because of you being an enabler and being naive, we have decided that you will no longer tolerate your behavior and your teaching license will be stripped away.” Turning around and zipping her bag close, Ms. Blight walked towards the door. “That will be all now,” she said as she exited from the conference room and ended the week worth of torture that Marinette had gone through.

***

“I won’t go live with that old Hag!” Lila Rossi stomped her foot on the carpet. “There is nothing that you can do that will make me go to that backwater village in Italy!”

Jenny Rossi gritted her teeth as she kept her temper under control. It was well known her sixteen-year-old daughter hated the three months of the year she visited her grandmother in Italy but after everything that played out today, the three months were going to become more permeant. “Young lady,” Jenny began, keeping her voice steady as she continued. “You don’t have any say in this. As my daughter, you will listen to what I have to say to you as your Mother.”

Her daughter turned away from her and began to stomp in direction of her bedroom. “I won’t go,” she shouted in a shrill voice.

“Go to your room,” Jenny shouted, gesturing to the hallway that veered off to the main part of the house. “And don’t come out until I come and get you, little missy!”

***

Lila slammed her bedroom door behind her. Once in her room, she yanked her shoes off and sent them flying into the bookcase beside her studying area. Throwing herself onto her cream comforter, she screamed until her throat burned into her pillow. Everything had been going so good until Marinette had to give a sob story to her “uncle and aunt” and get the authorities involved. Now, because of her, she was being sent to live with her grandmother until further notice.

“Stupid, Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she grumbled as she rolled onto her back and stared up at the white ceiling of her bedroom. “If she hadn’t been such a baby and sensitive or she sided with me, this would have never happened. This is all her fault!”

Pressing her pillow onto her face, she groaned. Why couldn’t her mother take her side for once? Why did she have to take the side of the person who wronged her and punish her for doing what was right?

She had been so lost in her fuming that she didn’t notice the drop in temperature of her bedroom or how there was a dark fluttering butterfly approaching her. It wasn’t until a soft, comforting voice whispering to her did she realize what had happened.

“Lady Judge, I am Hawk Moth. It is always a travesty when the person wronged you gets the support of your own kin. With my assistance. I am giving you the power to make the person who hurt you reveal the true person she is. In fact, I am giving you the power for the entire city to know how a shrew she is, and all I want in return is Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses. No need to get their partners. They are just inferior compared to them.”

Sixteen-year-old Lila Rossi, now calling herself Lady Judge, stood off of her bed and smiled a smile that would send demons running for cover. “It is nice to hear someone has my back, Hawk Moth,” she responded with a snarl. “I will do as you wish, Hawk Moth. I shall be victorious in both ways. First revealing the true rotten person that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is and then getting the Miraculous of Ladybug and her lousy sidekick, Chat Noir as you are requesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am leaving this more up to you guys, as the readers, of this fanfiction piece. At the moment, I am still on the edge if I should include the battle between Lila and the Miraculous Team, or I should just reference it in the next chapter like I had thought of doing. What are your thoughts?
> 
> But on another note, there is only two more chapters for the “official” book before it ends. But like I said earlier in the book there will be four bonus “scenes” or chapters that I will be publishing a few days or week after the book is done. But in the next chapter, I will be placing a post in the notes for a poll on what bonus chapter that I should write first. I also have a bonus one that will not be revealed until the very end of the bonus chapters when I post it.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

“Pound it!”

Marinette eagerly met the three fists of her teammates as they gently bumped them together. They had just finished defeating Lady Judge and ow were preparing to do a brief press break before parting ways until patrol later that evening. Pulling their fists away and turning away from where Lila sat, she walked over to the reporters. “We only have a few minutes to answer your questions,” she said to the reporters. “You can ask a question or two than we will have to go.”

“Ladybug! Ladybug!” Nadja Chamack stood at the front with Alexandra at her side. “I’m not here as a reporter but as a thankful guardian. I wanted to thank you for being there for my niece when the school system and I failed to be.”

Hearing this, the reporters, professionals, paused, turning their gaze to where Alexandra was now gripping onto the tails of her aunt’s jacket as if she was a young child. Before any of them can make a move, Ladybug stepped to stand beside her. “It’s no problem, Ms. Chamack,” she said, glancing at Alexandra. “I heard what played out at the school today and hope that everything smooths out for you now, Alex.”

“Thank you, Ladybug,” she whispered, a slight blush coming across her face “Thank you for Chat Noir and you really being the only ones until a few days ago to believe and support me. I'm happy not to be under Lila Rossi's thumb anymore."

Ladybug tensed slightly, a frown sliding across her face. Taking a moment to compose herself, she turned back to the reporters. “As before, we should have time to answer another question,” she said, trying to keep her voice even and push the oncoming tears at bay. “It can be to any of us or us as a group. As requested before, please no personal information that could reveal our identity to Hawk Moth.”

“Not as a reporter but as a mother...” A woman, dressed in black slacks and a gray top, stepped forward, her notebook and pencil tucked away in her purse. “Are you alright dear? You seem upset after Nadja’s niece talked about being bullied.”

“She can’t be bullied,” came an innocent voice of Manon Chamack, Alexandra’s cousin. “She’s Ladybug. Nobody would bully Paris’s protector. That would be a foolish choice.”

“That is quite wrong, Manon,” Ladybug sighed, turning to face the young, five-year-old girl. “Just until recently there was a person who made me feel like I was worthless and consider that I don’t belong as a hero.” She turned her gaze to the floor as a stunned silence fell over the crowd. It was one thing for them to stand up and do an anti-bullying and speak of suicide but hearing how Ladybug, the little dame and sweetheart of Paris, was almost pushed to do something so permeant and life ending, not only stunned and angered them but also worried. “B-but there were people-“ She drew in a ragged breath, trying to steady her thumping heart. “They refused to leave me alone for a moment until I found my bearings.” The red masked hero forced out a cheerful, lighthearted laugh. “At one point, they would literally sit on the toilet cover to keep an eye on me. But now, after a year and half, it finally has stopped and I-I am doing a lot better.”

“Miss Ladybug?” A small boy, three-year-old August Shrime, stepped forward, releasing his mother’s hand and crashed into her legs, wrapping her tightly into a hug. “You aren’t alone. Mommy says that Paris is always supporting you.”

“Yes.” Ladybug crouched down, gently ruffling the boy’s hair. “At the moment, I cannot give any more details but in the next few days, once things calm down in my civilian life, I plan to release a statement through the Ladyblog.”

“Do you have anything to say for oth-“ The reporter began but got caught off by the rapid beeping of Ladybug’s earrings.

“Tell them that no matter what, even in the heart of darkness, light can penetrate and find you. Sometimes it’s the times when the darkness is the most harden and invincible, that people who you thought weren’t your friends step forward and the light of love and mercy can break through when you least expect it, ending the very pain and hardship you were going through.” Turning around, Marinette faced her team mates. “Meet at the Eiffel Tower at normal time for weekend patrol,” she said, drawing her yo-yo and preparing to take off. “Bug out, Kitty, Queenie, Vixie Don't stay for too much longer.”

“Stay safe, Ladybug,” Chat Noir says, looking at her with worry as she faded off into the distance. Soon, after a few more questions and the prompting of their own Miraculous, they too left the reporters, allowing them to disperse for the evening.

***

Once home, Marinette sank into her bed, body sore and head spinning. Above her, Wayzz, Tikki, and Mullo fluttered around, talking in a language that went above her head. “What am I going to do?” she groaned, burying her face into her pillow, voice growing muffled. “Now Chat Noir, Queen Bee, and Rena Rouge, are going to interrogate me during patrol tonight. And I still have to deal with Hawk Moth and his increasing dangerous Akumas! What are my team mates and I going to do? We can’t keep doing this much longer.”

“Yah samay,” insisted Wayzz, voice rising uncharacteriscally high. “Use bataaya jaana chaahie.”

“Mera Chuna sirph ek bachcha hai!” Tikki snapped, cheeks puffing up and glowing red. “Isee ke yogy hone ke lie, ledeebag ko apane jeevan aur aatma ke saath un par bharosa karana chaahie! Ek bachche ke lie, vah aadhe mein usake dil ko cheerane ke lie kah rahee hai! Doosara raasta hona chaahie.”

“Yah keval bade khatare ke samay mein kiya jaata hai,” pointed out Wayzz, small hands crossing over his chest. “Use aur any logon ko vhait taigaras ke sanrakshan kee aavashyakata hai! Agar unhen jald suraksha nahin milee to yah vinaashakaaree ho sakata hai.” “Krpaya ladana band karo!” pleaded Mullo, the youngest Kawami, in a soft voice, pressing her small paws over her eyes. “Mujhe napharat hai jab aa paisa karate hain.” 

“Wayzz, Tikki, Mullo!” Marinette now stood at the edge of her loft bed, hands on her hips. While she did look annoyed, her gaze was soft and gentle. “I know that allow you much freedom and give space when you want to talk to yourselves. But something is telling me that you are hiding something from me. If you are, spill the details.”

Tikki was the first to speak. “Mari, before Master Fu passed, did he tell you about the Miraculous called White Tigress?”

Face scrunching up, she thought for a moment before nodding. “Master Fu explained that while he may not know much of it but it was rumored to be shown to Guardians or worthy people when times were turning dire.” She paused. “Why?”

“Wayzz, Mullo, and I have been talking and think that its time,” Tikki explained, floating over to her Chosen. “It’s time to bring the Kawami and Miraculous back into action.”

Hearing this, Marinette sank down to the floor of her loft, blue eyes widening. “Who do I choose?” she breathed, nails digging into her knees. “How did Master Fu choose my team mates and I, Wayzz?”

“While he has done many great things as a Guardian, Master Fu was never meant to be a guardian or a leader,” Wayzz explained, coming to a rest on one of her knees. “He was always meant to be a follower, while you, Mistress, was meant to be a Guardian and probably would have been finishing your training if the Order was around. So, for you choosing a new Miraculous User, trusts on your instincts and don’t let your doubt control you like Master Fu did.”

Biting the inner part of her cheek, Marinette sat up straighter, pulling the Miracle Box from beneath her bed. Allowing Wayzz, Tikki, and Mullo to rest on her head, she laid her hand on top of the box and closed her eyes, allowing her senses reach out, trying to find the connection of the true Chosen for the Miraculous and its Kawami.

A few hours later, long after her body had stiffen and hunger clawed at her stomach, Marinette blinked open her eyes, greeted with the darkness of night looming over her bedroom. “Tikki,” she gasped, her hand flying to her aching throat. “Way-.”

“I’ll get you a glass of water, Mari,” Tikki said as the door to her minifridge open and the light overhead turned on. “Tracking down a Destined Chosen can take a lot out of a Guridan,” she explained, gently placing a glass of water next to her. “It’ll take a few minutes before you should try to move.”

Remaining silent, the fifteen-year-old picked up the glass of water. Taking a sip, she watched as Wayzz settled down onto her knee as Tikki nuzzled her and placed one of her recharging cookies onto her other knee. “Eat this after you finish the glass of water,” she said, settling onto her shoulder. “Once you are feeling better, you should call the others to tell them about this new development.”

Nodding, the French-Chinese finished the cookie and glass of water before getting to her shaky legs. Going to where she stored her emergency phone and other things she had gotten overtime as being Ladybug, she grabbed her phone, hitting the call button.

“Hey Chat,” she said once she got her partner’s voice mail. “We have something important to do tonight instead of patrolling. Can you call Vixie and Queenie to let them know to meet us an hour earlier at the normal patrol spot?”

Once she finished her message, Marinette hung up, hiding her phone back into its secret spot and went to get ready to leave early for patrol.

***

Swing through the early evening streets of Paris, Marinette felt all the emotions from other falling off her shoulders and swept away with the wind. After many hours of loss sleep and barely staying awake in class from facing off with Akumas, she finally felt free and like her age once more. But still, her mind still couldn’t fall back to the small box in her clutch where Mullo and Wayzz hid. They had agreed to come for support, knowing that she was just one hard shove away from collapsing and breaking down.

Arriving at the Eiffel Tower, she placed her yo-yo back onto her belt as she saw her three partners lounging around in their spots. It was Queen Bee who noticed her first. “Ladybug,” she greeted, sitting up with a nod of greeting. “What was so important that you dragged us out earlier than expected? I had to convince my father I was sick and didn’t need our family’s workers to check on me every five seconds.”

“Thankfully, my parents were duped by me saying that I had a mountain of homework,” Rena Rouge agreed from where she lay next to Chat Noir, chest rumbling as the tomcat scratched her ears. “But I know you wouldn’t call early patrol unless it was important."

“Good evening My Lady,” Chat Noir greeted, ears perking up. “I think whatever you have to say that it is important just to say it now.”

Fiery bluebell gaze going over her teammates and then glancing down at the clutch where the Miraculous and the other two Kawamis were stored, Ladybug took a deep breath before proclaiming, “It’s time to bring an additional member to Team Miraculous.”

“What!” All three heads of the Team Miraculous members flashed around, staring at their leader shocked. Rena Rouge, laying partially off the side of the beam, would have fallen from her quick movement if it wasn’t for the catlike reflexes of their feline partner, seizing ahold of her small coat like material on her back.

“What do you mean My Lady?” Chat Noir glanced at Ladybug as Rena Rouge settled onto a crook in connecting beams a few feet from them. “I thought having four Miraclouses in circulation was already pushing it.”

“Now you want to add another,” Queen Bee added, ocean blue eyes scrunching up in confusion. "Why the sudden change of heart?”

“Does this have to deal with what you told the public earlier?” Rena Rouge sat tall, eyes focused on her leader. “If you feel like you are drowning or struggling with the stress, take a step back for a few fights and one of us can bring the akumas to you while you stay hidden in the side lines.”

“Because Mullo and I told her.” Wayzz and Mullo popped out of her purse, floating in the middle of the group. “In the past, you three have always trusted Ladybug and now we are requesting that you trust her more. As the Guardian, she knows what she is doing.”

“Is it going to be a boy?” Chat Noir’s tail flicked back and forth excitedly, eyes brimming with hope but dimmed when seeing three glares centered on him. “Not that I don’t like working with you three fine ladies,” he said, backtracking. “But there is only so much hormones and yelling during our little visitor that a guy can take on their own. I really, hope it’s a guy, but understand if it’s a girl.”

“Good choice of words, cat boy,” Queen Bee taunted, gently flicking one of his cat ears. “You almost pissed off three quarters of the team.”

Stifling a smile and a fit of laughter, she shrugged. “I don’t know yet,” she said. “But I do know where the true Chosen is located. Ready, guys?”

“Ready,” the three chorused.

***

After turning their newest member to her bedroom and telling her not to come to the next few akuma battles unless retrieved, Ladybug and her teammates headed back to their patrol spot. While they had started out an hour earlier than normal, it was almost five in the morning when they started to part ways. Queen Bee was the first to leave after realizing her civilian cellphone had over fifty missed calls from her father and several hundred texts from her various classmates. Knowing she was in deep trouble, she bid them good bye and took off. Following Queen Bee was Rena Rouge. According to Rena Rouge, their patrol route was only a few minute run from her bedroom. So several times during patrol, she disappeared in case her parents checked on her. The fox themed hero had planned to stay longer to discuss new plans with Chat Noir and Ladybug when her communication device went off. Unlike the other three, she had found a way to connect her civilian phone to her device. The person on the other end had been her mother, who thinking she had gone for an early morning run, had called to tell her to get to CHU Pitie-Salpetriere Hosptial as her two little sisters were going to emergency surgery. Panicked and worried her little sisters, she took off for the half an hour run across town.

That only left Ladybug and Chat Noir, at the meeting spot.

“My Lady?” Chat Noir, nursing a large cup of Black Coffee with whipped cream, leaned against one beam, eyes droopy and jaws parting with a yawn. “Do you want to talk about what you told the public earlier?”

“Not really,” she confessed, pausing to take a sip of her extra-large Hot Chocolate, fighting to stay awake. “There isn’t much to talk about at the moment, Kitty. “

“Was that what caused you to be so upset an almost two weekish days ago?” Moving over to her, he plopped down beside her, black, belt tail wrapping around her to pull her close. “You looked like you were barely holding yourself together that night during patrol.”

“Yes.” She sighed, allowing her head to lay on his shoulder. “But I feel a lot better now, Chaton. With the person tormenting me out of the picture and having my support system back with me, I know that I am going to get a lot better and just need to take it one day at a time.”

“Good,” he purred. “I’m happy.”

“Kitty, I need to tell you something,” she sighed, fingers tightening around her hot chocolate. “It’s about my civilian life but also deals with our relationship.”

“Relationship?” Chat Noir cocked his head to the side, emerald eyes sparkling. “What are you trying to say, My Lady?”

“I have a girlfriend,” she explained, squeezing her eyes shut and expecting her partner to ridicule her for dating a girl or proclaiming how he could fix her but she received none. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she was meet with a hurt but water grin of her partner and a clawed hand rubbing her back. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you, Kitty,” Ladybug added quickly. “While I don’t see you as a boyfriend, I see you as an older brother, Kitty. You, Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and maybe one day, White Tigress, as my extended family. While I cannot give you my heart as my boyfriend, I can give it to you as my older brother.”

While he looked hurt, Chat Noir nodded. “While it pains me to know that someone else won your heart,” he began, voice soft. “I am also happy that you have found someone who cares for you and you are for them. So if I can only be your brother, than I will take that than, My Lady.”

“Thank you, Kitty.” Getting up and pulling her cat themed partner into a tight hug, she pulled away. “I will see you later this weekend with the others,” she said with a nod. “Remember, it is your turn to retrieve White Tigress for patrol next time.”

“I will My Lady,” he said as he watched his bluebell eyed partner leap off the Eiffel Tower and head back towards her bedroom to get some rest before it got too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The language that Tikki, Wayzz, and Mullo are using, is Hindi. From the brief research I had read, it said the main spoke language is Tibetan but that English, Hindi, and Nepalese are also spoken. Since I used Hindi in another book, I decided to use Hindi. Also, I am sorry if it sounds wrong as I used Google Translate to translate English to Hindi. 
> 
> Translations:
> 
> "It's time. She should be told!"-Yah samay hai. Use bataaya jaana chaahie!
> 
> "My Chosen is just a child!"-Mera chuna sirph ek bachcha hai!
> 
> "For someone to be worthy, Ladybug must trust them with her life and soul! To a child, that is like asking to rip her heart in half! There must be another way."-Kisee ke yogy hone ke lie, ledeebag ko apane jeevan aur aatma ke saath un par bharosa karana chaahie! Ek bachche ke lie, vah aadhe mein usake dil ko cheerane ke lie kah rahee hai! Doosara raasta hona chaahie.
> 
> "She and the others need the protection of the White Tigeress! If they don't receive protection soon, it could be disasterious."-Use aur any logon ko vhait taigaras ke sanrakshan kee aavashyakata hai! Agar unhen jald suraksha nahin milee to yah vinaashakaaree ho sakata hai.
> 
> "This is done only in times of great danger."-Yah keval bade khatare ke samay mein kiya jaata hai,
> 
> "Please stop fighting!"-Krpaya ladana band karo!
> 
> "I hate when you do this."-Mujhe napharat hai jab aa paisa karate hain


	14. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!
> 
> This chapter will contain a group of characters discussing an attempted suicide. I will leave a summary at the bottom of his chapter if you would rather skip but want to know the outcome.

Marinette leaped from building to building as she hurried to the news station, adrenalin coursing through her veins and the wind roaring in her ears. She was in a hurry, but only this time it wasn’t for an akuma battle. Instead, it was her first interview after she revealed of something pulling her almost to attempting suicide.

Arriving at the front of the news station, she leaped through an open window, following the familiar voices of her teammates as the joked around and talked to Nadja before the interview went live. Arriving at the entrance to the stage, she paused to allow an employee to place a small microphone on her ear. Settling onto the couch next to Chat Noir, she smiled, relieved by how quickly things had changed.

It had been almost three full weeks since Lila Rossi had fallen off her throne and the entirely of Paris had learned what she put her entire friend group through. With Lila reign over and Hawk Moth seemingly taking a break after Lady Judge, her superhero and civilian life could be any easier at the current moment. Now, after several long weeks of getting it sorted out, she and her three other teammates have finally managed to set up an interview to discuss the recent events with Paris learning Team Miraculous stood with Alexandra Clark, a victim of sexual harassment and domestic violence, and Paris’s little dame, Ladybug, was bullied.

Chat’s hand slips into her own, drawing her back to the present. Looking up at him, she gave the first bright smile she had since Lila joined their class almost a full two years ago. “I’m okay Kitty,” she said, squeezing his hand gently. “Just a bit nervous for the interview, Chat. It’s been awhile since we had the last one.”

“Everything will be okay,” the feline themed superhero assured her as Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, and Snow Lioness chimed in agreement.

“You will have us to do the interview,” Rena Rouge piped up.

“There is nothing to worry about,” added Snow Lioness and Queen Bee in unison.

“Good evening. I’m Nadja Chamack and this is Face to Face. For our first anniversary of being on air, I welcome the beloved guardians of Paris-Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee-for a return after their first appearance. And the debut of Snow Lioness as the newest member of Team Miraculous.” Nadja Chamack gave Ladybug a soft smile as the camera panned over the five members of Team Miraculous. “Hello, thanks so much for accepting this exclusive live interview.”

“Well, thank you Nadja,” Marinette said, beaming as she spoke for her entire time. “We are honored to be here.”

“It is,” chorused the others, nodding in agreement.

“I think it would be best to start off light.” Nadja turned her attention to Snow Lioness who blushed faintly underneath the bright lights. “How about you introduce yourself properly to the audience, Snow Lioness?”

“Umm...” She gave a mute nod, pressing her clawed hands into her lap. “There isn’t really anything interesting about me,” she said softly. “But I’m Snow Lioness, and am currently the newest member of Team Miraculous.”

“Do you have anything you would like to say to your fans?”

“Fans?” The white lioness themed hero looked shocked. “I don’t think I have any fans, Ms. Chamack. I’m nothing compared to the others,” she explained. “I haven’t really fought in any Akuma battles and interacted with an occasional lost tourist during patrol.”

“I beg to differ, Snowy!” Chat leaned haphazardly over the laps Ladybug and Rena Rouge before coming to stare at his newest teammate. “I don’t know how many times I had reporters ask Buggaboo or me about you during our brief interviews after each Akuma battle.”

“I’m sure thousands have tuned in to watch this interview tonight,” Nadja assured the bashful girl. “One part being about the incident that happened several weeks before but also to hear a bit about you.”

“Chaton...” White Lionness hid her face into her hands before sighing. Gently tapping his collar, she smiled watching as he was pulled back to sit beside Ladybug. “I think this is not the time to give the shippers fuel.”

“Snowy is right, Pussycat,” Ladybug agreed, curling up into the side of Chat Noir. “But we should continue, Nadja. I can’t speak for the others but I have a curfew, and don’t want to get grounded for breaking it.

“Yes.” The women cleared her throat. “As I know it might be painful to talk about the incident that played out a few weeks prior, Ladybug, but I think that for the audience members who are going through what you went through, it might help to hear from you, one of the saviors of Paris."

It took all of Marinette’s strength not to flinch. Tightening her grip onto Chat Noir, she gave a nod. “I think it would benefit all of Paris,” she explained in a soft, trembling voice. “While I am unable to explain it fully, I can give a few important events and how I managed to keep my head up. Even with me having the darker moments, I still found strength in my teammates and some family members.”

“How about we start with the beginning?” Nadja gave her a gentle look, letting her know they could stop when she felt uncomfortable. “It doesn’t have to be too detailed. Just a brief summary to we can understand and possibly be able to better reach out to others who are going through the same thing you went through.”

Taking a moment to take a calming breath, she began. “As you know, it’s been almost two and half years since Hawk Moth took over Paris,” she began, keeping her voice even. “Well, it was only about fiveish to fourish months after I became Ladybug that it first started. It was little things at first. Something going missing from my bag or finding simple notes in my locker. For example, one said, “You are worthless. Nobody wants you. Do the right thing and off yourself.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she almost flinched as she felt Chat rubbing her back. “It wasn’t until a few months ago that it got worst. In my civilian life, I was almost alone. M-M-my parents basically gave up on me after learning that I s-showed signs for being on the spectrum and possibly ADHD, and my tormentor corned me one day, my lowest point at the time, and threatened me. They said either I stand beside them as their girlfriend or I will be their arch rival until I conceded.”

“You can stop if you wish,” Nadja said, glancing at the direction of Snow Lioness who had gone unearthly still and pale as a ghost. “If it’s too hard to talk about, we can switch to some lighter questions.”

“No..No.!” Ladybug waved her hand, gathering her bearings. “As I was saying, that moment was my lowest point. It was the afternoon school that I was cleaning my bedroom and found one of my old notes. One of the very first ones that told me how to kill myself. I don’t remember how it happened but I ended up..” She took a deep breath, tears burning in the corners of her eyes. “I ended up on the floor and I don’t remember much until recently because I always felt like I was drowning. But it was Chat, my sweet Kitty, who first reached out to me when he realized how upset, I was. B-b-but now..” She used her free hand to wipe tears out of her face. “I am doing a lot better and am happy to say that my tormentor is no longer attending the same school as I and I am getting a fresh start after Christmas break with a new primary teacher.”

She takes a deep breath, calming the fast paced thumping of her heart. “B-but now, after three weeks, I can say that while it is hard to keep pushing forward when you feel all alone, just remember that you aren’t truly alone and your true friends will make themselves seen.” She smiles brightly even though her eyes shimmered with tears. “So don’t give up hope and remember one day there will be a brighter light that the darkness can’t break.”

With that, Nadja signaled for the end of the show to start. With a nod to her supervisor, she went over to the Miraculous Team. “Thank you for coming on today,” she said, giving each one a shake of her hand. “And Ladybug, thank you for sharing your story. I have a feeling that you might have made a bigger impact than you realize.”

“It’s nothing Nadja,” she said, smiling brightly at the woman, wiping her tears away. “If my story can help even one person, it will be worth it.”

“It should.” Snow Lioness appeared beside Ladybug, nodding. “I have a feeling there will be several articles based on this interview in the next hour.”

Marinette gave a nod of agreement as she wandered away from Nadja, allowing Snow Lioness to talk to her briefly as she looked at her teammates.

Rena Rouge and Queen Bee were talking about possible gift ideas for people in their civilian lives. Chat Noir had somehow squeezed himself between them, arms wrapped around each shoulder and giving his input with each suggestion. Snow Lioness, while new and inexperience working with the press, seemed to brighten upon talking to Nadja and not being put front in center of a camera, as they talked about random things.

Smiling, she sighed, settling down back onto the couch. Her teammates, Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, Chat Noir, and White Lioness, were the closest thing she had, after her big fight with her parents, to a family besides Aunt Penny, Uncle Jarred, and her girlfriend, Kagami. While they may not know each other outside of the mask, Marinette couldn’t help but feel optimistic about the upcoming news year and movie night in a few hours.

After all, there was nothing else that could shock her. Or at least, that was what she thought.

***

Marinette wrapped her blanket tighter around her as she propped open the window from her balcony. Pausing a few steps down the ladder, she stared up. Stars glittered beyond the edge of the railing s moonlight spilled into the room. As she shivered from the cold, she clambered back into the warm embrace of her bedroom. Around her Kagami and Chat Noir, who arrived earlier than expected, filtered around the bedroom, preparing for the arrival for Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, and Snow Lioness, so they could celebrate Christmas.

“I’m glad you added a few extra blankets,” Kagami said once she thought her girlfriend was too busy arranging the small pile of presents underneath the decorated Christmas tree. “While I know Yuka doesn’t let it on, the cold is starting to bother her more.”

“Ladybug has the same problem,” Chat Noir answered, arranging the blankets into a simple, makeshift nest. “I always make sure to carry an extra blanket or two in my baton while on patrol during fall and winter.”

“I brought Pizza!” Balancing several large boxes in one hand and another holding a bag of sugary drinks and snacks, Rena Rouge landed on top of Marinette’s bed, almost causing the girl to tumble down onto her left. “And I brought snacks! Is everyone ready to start the movie night?”

“We are still waiting for Queenie and Snowy,” Marinette said, stumbling forward as Rena Rouge steadied her with one arm. “But we can start getting everything set up.”

Rena Rouge nodded. Using her arm that held the heavy bag, she pulled the pigtailed girl to her side and leaped down onto the main floor, allowing her to toddle over to Kagami who pulled her close. Setting everything up and beginning to settle down, Queen Bee and Snow Lioness arrived, each rosy cheeked and bright eyed. Once everyone got their food and began to talk what movie they wanted to watch, Marinette knew it was going downhill.

They had just gotten their share of junk food and settled onto the couch with Marinette squished between Kagami and Chat Noir, and a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Queen Bee and Snow Lioness had dragged her pink Chiase chair to one side of the couch before they both lay down, pulling themselves close to each other. Behind Marinette, Kagami, and Chat Noir, Rena Rouge lay across the couch, rumbling softly as she ate her share of the pizza.

“What movie do you want to watch?” Kagami asked as the food began to disappear. “Since its Christmas break, I think we should be able to watch three movies instead of two like normal.”

“Let’s watch Sekirei,” Chat Noir suggested, appearing excited. “We only got to the seventh episode when we had to head our separate ways last time.”

“I’m tired of watching stupid anime,” Queen Bee objected as she was braiding Snow Lioness’s long, faded purple hair. “Why can’t we watch a girly movie for once?”

“The Princess Bride,” suggested Snow Lioness, vibrant blue eyes looking at the others. “It good.”

“It’s a classic,” Queen Bee agreed, nodding. “And it has English subtitles unlike the anime. I think Snowy might want to be able to understand what she is watching, Chat.”

“We can watch Inuyasha than!” Chat Noir pulled away from Marinette as he pulled a thick copy of the full seven seasons. “It is in English and has French subtitles so Snowy don’t have to spend most time reading it and can pay attention to the anime.”

“Do we have a say?” Marinette asked softly, pressing into the side of Kagami with a puppy eyed look on her face. “Vixie, Ombre, and I haven’t given our option yet.”

“What about wat-“ Rena Rouge began.

“No!” Queen Bee and Chat Noir glared at the three girls, silencing them.

All three of them flinched as the fight began to settle down and they begrudgingly decided to watch an American show called Jessie after Snow Lioness snuck it into the DVD player while the others were arguing. They had only gotten through the third episode, Flesh Wounds, when a loud cry of, “Marinette Elena Dupain-Cheng, downstairs right now!” came from her mother, sounding angry and not pleased.

Marinette, half asleep and nursing another slice of Pizza, stood shakily to her feet, holding the blanket Kagami wrapped around her shoulders tightly. “I will be right back,” she said with a yawn. Shuffling to her trap door and spotting a flash of red out of the corner of her eye, she raised the blanket in pretense to allow Tikki cover to hide as she pretended to rub her eyes. Once Tikki was safely hidden beneath the blanket, the French-Chinese teen headed downstairs, stifling a yawn. “Yes, Maman?” she said, bluebell eyes glazed over with sleep. “Do you need help with something?”

Coming to a stop halfway through the resting area, the Miraculous wearer stopped, color draining out of her face. Standing between her parents, a police officer stood, talking in hushed voices to her parents who were looking more and more furious and pissed. “What’s going on?” she asked, now fully awake.

The police officer, a man in his late forties, turned away from her parents and walked over to her. Using one hand to take off his cap and smooth out his short, orange hair, the officer’s green eyes fell onto her. “Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” he said, voice gravelly but gentle. “I don’t know if you remember me, but I am Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix.”

“You’re Sabrina’s father,” she recalled in a whisper, taking a step back as if she debated whether to run back to her girlfriend and guests. “What are you here for, Sir?”

“Nothing to worry about, Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Lieutenant Raincomprix assured. “Please go upstairs and pack a bag of essential things for the evening. Than tomorrow, in the early evening, you can return to get anything else you need.”

Sabine Cheng turned her gaze of furry from the police officer to her daughter who flinched as if she was expecting to be struck. “Your so called aunt, Penny Rolling, and uncle, Jarred Stone, are fighting custody for you and you are being removed from the house!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: It has been almost three weeks since the fall of Lila Rossi and Paris learning around Ladybug being the victim of bullying. Team Miraculous, including the new member, Snow Lioness, having a live interview with Nadja Chamack. They discuss what Ladybug had been through with her parents distancing themselves from her and her attempted suicide. A few hours after the interview, Marinette is preparing for movie night when the others arrive. They are beginning to watch the American tv series, Jessie, when Marinette gets called downstairs. Officer Rainprix informs her to pack a bag before her mother yells that Penny Rolling and Jarred Stone are fighting for custody to her and she is being removed from the house. 
> 
> ****************************************************************************  
> Seesh, I swear this was the shortest but longest fic that I have written. Or longest fic that I actually pushed myself to finishing. But anyway, this was interesting to write. With this ending in a cliff hanger, I am debating if I want to attempt a second book for the events after this one ending in a cliff hanger.


	15. Bonus Scene 1

Nadja Chamack was on a war path and beyond pist. She had just finished a two hour meeting between the school system, the parents and children of everyone involved, and finally got the justice that insolent brat, Lila Rossi, deserved. Now, after begrudgingly giving permission for her niece to spend the weekend with her older cousin, Adrien, at his place, she was going to deal with the next two people that didn’t sit right with her. After locking her car once more and shocking her car keys into one of her many pockets in her pants suit, she stalked up the sidewalk to where the bakery of Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng was located. Seeing nobody inside, she stepped in and walked over to the counter, taking a moment to control her temper. Her coming here would do know anything but harm if Hawk Moth took control of her.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Nadja." A young employee, around seventeen or eighteen, sat behind the counter, manning the register and the counter. "Is there anything that I can help you with? Or are you here to buy a pastry." The teenager got off her stool and went to where they stored the to-go boxes for if she wanted to buy something.

"Not today, Millie," she said, seeing the employee look worried once she noticed her tense posture. "Is Sabine and Tom in the back?"

Millie scurried to the back with a quick peek through the large doors separating the two parts of the store. Popping her head in and stumbling back out, she rubbed her head with a low hiss. "Ms. Sabine is in the back room," she said, settling back onto the stool, hand still rubbing the side of her temple. "But she appears to be in one of her moods and I would suggest not bothering her at the moment, Ms. Nadja." The young employee stiffened as the voice of Sabine, shouting in a foreign language that neither reconized, rose from the back before quieting down. "I can leave a message for her if you want to come back a later time to speak to her."

Nadja shook her head, almost rethinking when Millie deflated, looking panicked. "I need to speak to her now, Millie," she said, leaning against the counter to peer over the counter and at the door, fingers tapping on the marble. "It’s nothing to worry about but its important my dear. Please go and tell her that her friend, Nadja, is here to talk to her. And tell her it’s important."

Letting out a heavy sigh, she nodded. "I will go and get her," she promised, turning to leave.

"Oh, Millie," the mother of five called quickly. "If you haven’t taken your break yet, I would suggest you do that now and make yourself scarce."

"Yes, Ms. Nadja," she said, opening the door and entering the back room. "Ms. Sabine, your friend, Ms. Nadja, is here to talk to you. She says it’s important and wants to speak to you immediately."

"I’m busy," she snapped, almost causing Nadja to flinch. "Tell her I will talk to her once the shop closes in a few hours."

"Sabine, it’s urgent," she said, fingers digging into the countertop. "It is something concerning, Marinette."

"I’m coming," she groaned, whispering softly to someone before exiting.

"I’m clocking out for my thirty minute break," Millie added as the door swung close, leaving both mothers alone to speak to each other.

"What did my daughter do this time?" Sabine Cheng walked around the counter, leading Nadja over to a corner where they had a few tables for the public to sit at. "Did she say or do something in front of Manon that she wasn’t supposed to?"

Holding back a sharp retort, Nadja took a moment to take a deep breath to reign in her anger. "Your daughter, Marinette, has done nothing wrong," she explained simply, keeping her voice even. "And for the most part, she hadn’t been babysitting Manon the last few weeks since I’ve been at home more. But that is not the point. Did you know that there was a meeting that the school that Marinette was attending and concerning about her and others for their toxic school environment and a bully?"

Much to her amazement, Marinette’s mother, Sabine Cheng, didn’t even flinch or look worried for what she was told. "The school called to inform me that there was a meeting and it was suggested we come," the black-blue haired business owner explained, looking at her friend. "But Tom and I have been to swamped with work to go. I just finished doing some orders and were going to work on the book keeping when you interrupted me. Tom’s been delivering every order that we get and working most time in baking pastries for later shift or the next day."

If she had been eating or drink anything at the moment, Nadja knew she would have choked because, even with nothing in her mouth, she was left coughing and rubbing her throat as she sucked in a deep breath. "You could have closed your bakery for a few hours or left Millie in charge or even one of you coming to attend the meeting," the mother of five expressed, molten anger beginning to seep into her features and voice. "I couldn’t afford to but I took the afternoon off after getting the call from the school because I knew that I was needed there and my niece needed me."

"Unlike you, Tom and I don’t get paid if we take a few hours off or make money if we decide to take a vacation," Sabine said, gray eyes taking in her friend’s angered appearance. "And besides, whatever the meeting is about, Marinette has been acting up lately and got punished accordingly. So it would be foolish to go to hear what they were talking about when her primary teacher, Caline Bustier, informed us how her behavior changed during the one class she has with her."

"Caline Bustier was fired! She was proven to be creating a toxic learning environment and damaging the physical and mental health of her students." Nadja jumped up from her seat, grabbing her purse from where she sat it. Preparing to leave, she stopped, not wanting to leave until she made sure Marinette wouldn’t reap consequences from the actions of her visiting her friend.

"And most importantly, Alexandra better not be calling me saying that you yelled or punished Marinette for me coming to speak to you. Marinette has done nothing to deserve to be punished. Because the actions of the school system, yours, and Lila Rossi, she has been through enough grief and is shaken. So, if you are truly her parents, show her some compassion and actually comfort her and show the poor thing that you actually love her, Sabine."

"That's one thing you don't understand about teenage girls," Sabine Cheng said, getting up and pushing in both of their chairs. "If you give them praise and coddle them for every little bump in the road, they won't be able to grow up and be a proper adult once they become of age and move out of their parents' place. So, don't lecture us about raising our daughter, when you seem to be doing a horrible job with raising your two nieces, Marley and Alexandra. From what little I have heard, you do nothing but coddling them and babying them. You are just setting them up to fail, my friend."

That was when Nadja Chamack saw red. "You listen here, Sabine Cheng." Stalking forward and cowering over the woman, she placed on her best Mother Bear Persona. "My nieces have been through horrible things and are just starting to recover," she growled, appearing almost like a bristling panther. "They need to be "coddled" and "babied" as it has only been three weeks since the death of their parents. They have gone through so much and Alexandra has gone through more than Marley. With her having the threat of being molested and being forced into an abusive relationship with Lilia, she needs time to recover. So don't you dare say that they are getting impaired or being coddled? I am their caregiver and am doing what is best. Now, for you, that is a different story." She stood tall, arms crossing over her chest. "From what I have heard and seen, you have done nothing but break Marinette down so she cannot be her true self like in the past. When you are supposed to raise your daughter up, you have brought her down and caused her to start caving in on herself."

"How Tom and I are raising Marinette doesn't concern you," Sabine said hotly, standing taller. "While Marinette may watch Manon from time to time, she is not part of your family or related to you at all."

Slamming her hands down onto the table and pressing her face close to Sabine's, she hissed, "Marinette maybe not biologically my daughter but I see her as one, and I will do everything in my power to make sure she is safe. Even if it means fighting custody for her." With one hard earned glare, she stood up, pressing her pants suit and fixed her hair before turning around and exited from the bakery.

From the counter of eye, she saw the quick movement of Sabine's and Cheng's daughter. Careful not to hurt her, Nadja she grabbed her by her upper arm and slipped a prepaid cellphone into the side pocket of her blazer. "If you need to get ahold of me, Nathalie, or Gabriel," she said with a kind smile. "Have a good day, Marinette," she added before releasing the girl and turning to leave but paused just out of sight of Sabine in case things got too heated.

***

Watching the retreating form of Nadja Chamack, Marinette stood frozen before coming to her senses. Feeling Tikki move the phone from the pocket of her blazer to the inner pocket of her clutch, the fifteen-year-old took a deep breath before entering the bakery. She was coming home a bit later than normal to cleaning her things out of the Remedial classes’ room and moving them to her locker with the others of her grade. "I am home, Maman," she said, breathless as the bakery’s door closed behind her. "I’m sorry it took so long. I had to do a few things at school before coming home."

"We need to talk a talk, Marinette Elena Dupain-Cheng." Her mother, Sabine Cheng, stood in the middle of the vacant bakery, arms crossed over her chest and coldness flashing over her gray eyes. "I just got into a fight with my friend of seventeen years because of something that you did. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Stunned, she didn’t know what to say instead her mouth just hung open. Did she do something that upset Nadja enough to speak to her mother? "What did, Ms. Chamack say, Maman?" Panicking, she moved from foot to foot, trying to settle the welling nerves that pooled into her stomach. "I can’t accurately defend myself if I don’t know what I am being scolded for."

"There was a meeting at the school and you did something bad enough to upset, Nadja, Marinette!" Sabine had now placed her hands onto her hips, giving her the best Mom pose she could. "What was the meeting about, young lady? It must have been bad if you caused her to come over and yell at me and berate your father’s and mine parenting skills."

"Maman, the meeting was about my teacher and bully!" Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she pushed back a low whimpering sob. "The school system finally decided to help me so that I wouldn’t face to go through the toxicity and emotional trauma that I faced every day! How is that my fault?"

"Don’t you backtalk me young lady. I am your mother and deserve respect!" Sabine seized ahold of her daughter’s blazer collar. "You have no right to talk to me like you have. Now you will quiet down and listen to me, Marinette Elena Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette pulled away and turned around. Suppressing a sob, she ran up the flight of stairs to her parents’ apartment to go and hide in her attic bedroom, leaving her mother to go back and attending to the bakery until Millie came back from her thirty minute break.

***

Nadja Chamack bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself grounded and to avoid her charging into the bakery to take Marinette back to her two bedroom house until things settled down. But taking a moment to mull everything over, she knew how foolish it would be. It would only take one call to the police for her to risk her daughter and nieces being taken away if she took Marinette without Sabine’s and Tom’s permission.

The mother of five would have to think of a smarter and more public way to protect Marinette from her parents before it went further than yelling and groundings. She just hoped that it could be done before it was too late.

It was that moment, with her standing a few feet from her car, that she got an idea. With how long it took, it would take a few days but she knew such a way that would help in the case things went from annoying to disaterious.


	16. Bonus Scene 2

“Aunt Nadja?” The sleepy voice of her niece, Alexandra, caused her to turn around and find her in the entrance to the bedroom she shared with the four other girls. Beneath her arms, her crutches were tucked away from her feet and fingers curled around their holders. “What are you doing?”

“Did I wake you, darling?” Abandoning her basket full of bedroom items, she approached her niece, brushing strands of her vibrant purple hair out of her eyes. “There is nothing to worry about, Alexandra. I am just moving a few things out of my bedroom and storing them in the hall closet. It’s getting a bit stuffy in my bedroom and there isn’t enough room for all my items.”

Tenderly pressing a kiss onto her forehead and sending her back to bed, the mother of five turned back to her task at hand. Carrying them over to the hall closet attached to the living room, she placed the last box out of five inside. Closing it behind her, she entered her bedroom. Already, with her room was almost bare of any identifying personal items as if she was moving out or allowing another person to move in.

Carrying a new set of unopened bedding and clearing her's off her bed, she put the new bedding, a smear patterned of a faded black that had neon green paw prints. It was a Chat Noir themed bedspread that she hoped would be liked. Once everything looked presentable, Nadja settled onto a chair in the corner, body sore and feet aching. Since she had return from her short workday, the mother of five had been working on clearing out her bedroom and make a small corner in the living room her sleeping quarters for the time being.

Once she felt everything looked like, Nadja stood up and exited out of the bedroom. Turning the light off and closing the door, she reentered into the living room. Briefly checking into her children and seeing them all passed out, the newscaster and settled down onto her makeshift sleeping area. Once the light was off and her cellphone was plugged into the charger, Nadja Chamack rolled onto her side and fell asleep, knowing tomorrow and the next few days would be busy for her and the rest of the people in the apartment.

***

After a quick breakfast and herding her brood of five into her car, Nadja set to go to one of the local strip malls that would have what they exactly needed. It was a short, simple five minutes’ drive to the stores. Stepping out and telling her nieces to watch the younger three, she gave them about one hundred and fifty Euros to spend on anything they would like. Under normal circumstances, Nadja wouldn’t even dream of giving that much to Marley and Alexandra but it today she needed them to keep busy for long as possible.

“Meet me back here in about three hours,” she said, setting an alarm for three hours from the current time. “I will leave the car unlocked if you want to come back early and wait for me inside. I will have my cellphone on me if you need to get ahold of me.”

“Alexandra and I have ours two,” Marley said in broken French. “We will make sure to stick together in case there is an Akuma attack or anything else.” Turning her attention to the double stroller that held their sisters, four-year-old Filly and seventh month old, Minnie, Marley began to walk towards the cheaper end of the store.

“I will watch over them and make sure they don’t get into trouble,” Alexandra said with a smile, starting to walk side by side with her five-year-old cousin, Manon.

Turning away and crossing the street with a few others, she came to a fabric store. Entering, she was met with several long rows of fabric bundles that left her confused on where to start. It wasn't until an employee approached her.

"Do you need help with something?" she asked, pushing a pair of black framed glasses up on her nose.

"Yes." She smiled in relief. "Recently, I was told that I would be gaining shared custody with my niece and she wants to be a fashion designer one day. With that, I was wondering where the sewing machines were located. I want to get her one to keep at my place for when I have her visitation."

"If you are looking for one that is budget friendly, I would suggest the Singer 7258 Stylist. It's a Computerized so its levels can be adjusted or changed to what they are sewing or making at the time." The employee, named Paula, walked over to a row of boxes. Pulling out a smaller one, she showed the front of it. It was a small, compact machine with small button on its side and detailed words that Nada had trouble reading. "If your niece works more at night, it has an LED work light which provides better light than a lamp can. If she is still young, its only 14 and three-fourth pounds, making it easier if it’s for on the show. The best I have heard some people is the adjustable sewing speed option witch is useful for learners or inexperienced in dressmaking. There is also six different styles of automatic single-step buttonholed stitching that can be used for buttons of different sizes and shapes."

“What about this one?” She walked down a few boxes and lugged out a larger one. Seeing the price of $885.99 on the price tag, Nadja almost flinched. There had been only a few other times she had spent so much money on a single item. But knowing she would be reimbursed in a few weeks, she would relent and pay and arm and leg for what would be needed. “Tell me about this one please, Paula.”

“This one is the top choice for people who want a computerized model that is for professionals,” she explained uncertainly. “It’s called Juki Hzl-F600. It has 255 pattern choices and 4 different fonts. There is a precise trimming options that are automatic, foot controlled and button controlled. It also has bright LED lights that also allows for good sight for late night crunches.”

Putting down the box and pulling out the list of needed materials, Nadja checked off the one for sewing machine. There was several more to get, each being cheaper than the sewing machine, that nothing a quick cruise to the online store a few blocks away to put her order in, wouldn’t fulfil.

“Thank you,” she said, giving a nod. “I check out at the main counter then?”

“Yes,” she said in disbelief, watching as the woman carried the expensive piece of equipment up front to pay.

***

Later, resting in her car with a look of pure exhaustion, the mother of five was beginning to nod off when her cellphone lit up and rang. Cursing softly, she answered immediately when she saw who was contacting her. “This is Nadja Chamack speaking,” she said, answering.

“Hey Nadja,” the speaker greeted, sounding stressed and beyond annoyed. “Sorry for calling you so late but I wanted to know how everything is going on your end?”

“It went good,” she explained friendly. “Took a bit longer than I expected but I got everything on the list. Tomorrow, on my way to work, I will mail you the receipts and photos of what I bought if you need them at a later date. How is it going with the paperwork? Is it almost done?”

“I just spoke to the lawyer,” another voice, male, spoke in the background. “He said it should be either tomorrow morning or evening that it’s put into effect. So it should be happening soon hopefully.”

“Good,” she agreed.

“It was lovely speaking to you, Nada,” the woman said as she moved to another room and closing the door. “But I will have to be going now. I still have a few things that I need to take care off before the court date in the next week or two. However, if you need to get ahold of me, you have my number and room number at the Sweat Hotel if needed.”

“I do,” she agreed, seeing her five starting to approach the car. “But I should be going too. My brood is starting to arrive too. Be safe and keep me updated,” Nadja asked as they both hung up. Getting out of the car and helping the younger three get in, the mother of five got back in and buckled up before driving back towards her apartment.


	17. Bonus Scene 3 Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this isn't what most of you were expecting when I updated this fic but I am currently home for the break and don't have access to the internet unless I am at a relative's house. So most of my files are being transferred by image over to an app that copies the text and allows me to edit and copy it onto my clipboard. Because of this, the bonus scene 3 will be split into three parts and published through next week with the last Bonus scene being published at the end of my first week back at school if everything goes as planned.

Ivan Bruel was sitting in his bedroom, his legs hanging over the edge. His walls, once hold posters of various celebrities and photos of his girlfriend, Mylene, was now bare. Now all that greeted him upon entrance was bare, white paint and a vacant, depressed atmosphere. It was a far cry from what his bedroom, his only solace against the terror that was Hawk Moth and Paris. But after Lila Rossi, some one who became a wolf in sheep's clothing, was exposed and her lies proven to be farce, he and the rest of Caline Bustier's class involved were set to be punished and expelled from France Dupont.

Beyond the room that was now his prison cell, the fourteen,-yearl-old heard his parents, Michelle and Caleb Bruel, about him in the living, just down the hall from where he resided. "I can't do this any more, Caleb," his mother, close to tears, was saying "Between the constant terror from Hawk Moth's reign and my hours being cut, I cannot bare to deal with the trouble that our son is stirring."

"I know, dear." His step-father, Caleb Hawksin, answered with a sigh. He had just recently married his mother three months prior and this was his first big disobedience he had to experience. Briefly, Ivan wondered, if Caleb regretted marrying into the Bruel family. It was one thing of a man marrying a women with children from a previous marriage, but marrying one with a teenager was a different challenge all together. Now, with the problems he caused, Ivan wondered if their marriage would last much longer. "I know you have so much to worry about his step father went on. But Ivan is still young enough that his behavior can be corrected."

"I don't know what changed," Michelle said, her voice rising, "Before now, Ivan was a good little boy and never got into trouble. What are we supposed to do? No school in Paris will want him to attend their courses after what he did to the girls and the Agreste boy."

"We still have one option." his step-father replied after a moment of silence, voice heavy. "My nephew, Isaak, works in Gotham, New Jersey. While the crime rates are high, they have a very good rehabilitation program for people Ivan's age who get pulled onto the wrong side of the tracks, Ivan can stay with Isaak and attend the school that is part of the debilitation program with a full scholar  
ship and graduate with some college credits." 

"But he would be overseas, Michelle whispered, worried. "He has never spent more than a few nights away from home without me, Caleb." 

"If we aren't careful, we could easily risk Hawk Moth manipulating Ivan," he explained

"Okay," Ivan's mother agreed after holding back a sob. "I will sign the papers to grant temporary guardianship to your nephew but once summer comes, I want him back in Paris, Caleb."

"We can visit him for a few weeks in Gotham," he replied after a moment of thought. "Ivan, come here! Your mather and have something that we must talk to you about."

"I am coming!" Throwing his feet to the ground and standing up, Ivan opened his bedroom door, walking down the hallway to where his mother and step father stood in the living room. "What did you want to tell me? What is my punishment?"

"Come sit with us." Caleb gestured to the couch to the side of them. Following his command, the family of three set tled down and began the talk that was much needed. "Your Mother and I talked about what you did and the current situation with Paris because of Hawk Moth. With all these factors in mind, Michelle and I have come to a conclusion that it would be best for you to go and live with my nephew in the United States. While there, you will be taking part on a rehabilitation program for juvenile delinquents while attending a private school."

"What!" Ivan leaped to his feet, shock over coming his features. While he knew that there was some kind of big pun ishment coming, the fourteen-year-old never gave a moment to think his parents would send him to an entirely new country as punishment. His mother, even with him now being fourteen, never let him stray far from their home. To hear she was willing to let him to live an almost complete stranger wasn't just shocking but also saddening, "I know that I did something that was stupid but isn't that a bit too much. Why can't I attend school in Paris or in another town?"

This is for the best." his mother stressed, meeting his burning gaze with an icy one. "And until you can leave for the United States, you will remain in the house and have no contact with your former classmates. Also, if you think of even contacting the you will be losing everything except your clothes. You have lost your trusts and will have to work much harder than before to regain it, Ivan. I am very disappointed in you."

***

Juleka Couffaine sat in the living room of her family's houseboat. Normally, if was after school hours, she would be surfing through the cable channels or working on homework with Lila and Rose. But today's events and her parents hearing the news of what her daughter did, Anarka Couffaine was beyond pist and ready to explode from anger. 

For the past half hour, she had been pacing in place. And, she worried, if her mother kept it up, their home, Liberty, might get groves into the planks. Or her eighteen-year-old brother, Luca, from where he leaned against the island,eyes dark and blazing, setting something on fire from his hot demeanor,

The thirteen-year-old couldn't take it any longer. "Will someone say something already?" She threw her hands up into the air, hoping to provoke some kind of reaction. The heavy silence and sweltering anger was beginning to be too much for her. "I can't stand the silence anymore. Yell at me. Berate me, or ground me but please say some thing."

"And what do you want to hear?" Standing up fully, Luca's normally calm and compassionate, blue eyed gaze hardened. They were now glowing pools of ice "Tell us, Juleka, what you want us to say after being told what you have been doing to my Melody and her friends. What did they do for them to be harassed and bullied like they were?"

"I don't know!" Tears sprang up in the corners of the younger teen's eyes as she fought back a whimper. "I don't know what to say, Luca. But please tell me what to do so I can fix it. I don't want you to be angry with me anymore. I can't stand the disappointment and silence."

"What can you do to remove the two and half years of trauma that you and your other former classmates caused Marinette, Chloe, Adrien, and Alya?" their mother barked, voice rising a few octaves. "Or how are you going to pay the lawsuits that are looming over our heads, Juleka? There is nothing that you can do that will fix this problem that you caused. You should be happy enough that Chloe's father was able to pull some strings and not have any of you arrested. If you get a record now, your life will be ruined!" 

Luca opened his mouth to add something but got caught off by his cellphone going off. Giving her one, hot, warning glare, the young adult fished his phone out of his pocket. Frowning slightly at the name, he answered quickly. "Hey, Melody," he greeted softly. "I just heard what happened. Have you been able to get ahold of Ombre?" Nodding, the blue haired boy added, "Okay. Just stay in your bedroom, Melody with Ombire. I will be there shortly." Hanging up he glanced at his mother. 

"How is Marinette coping?" Anarka asked her son, seeing his worried expression. "Is something wrong, Luca?"

"Marinette is very upset," he reported after casting a glance at his younger sister. "There is press swarming the bakery and her parents are exactly the best with her anymore but Om-Kagami is there with her. But she is also wondering, if I would be able to leave and go stay with them for a few hours. I should be back by supper time ar at least curfew."

Lips firmly pressedd into a frown, Anarka Couffaine nodded quickly. "Go and stay with her for a while," she re sponded. "And don't worry if you miss curfew, you won't be in trouble if you stay out later than midnight, Luca " 

"Thank you Mother." Luca gave a relieved nod before placing his phone back into his pocket. Going to his bedroom and emerging later with a backpack, the eighteen-year-old grabbed his helmet and keys for his motorcycle. "I will call you once I arrive and before I leave from her parent's apartment."

"Be safe," their mother replied solemnly as Luca left, leaving his mother and younger sister alone

"Since Luca is gone and it appears this conversation is over, can I go to my room now?" Juleka asked hesitantly as she scratched the back of her head. After the day she had so far and it being barely past five, she was ready to turn in for a few hours and talk to Rose over the phone on what had just happened. Her girlfriend always knew how to explain things better to her or make it easier to understand in a better light. "There isn't really any good reason why we should continue this conversation. So, I will be going to my room."

Before her mother could fully process what her daughter had said, the raven haired teen turned around and began to make her way to the back of the ship before her mother exploded. This was only one of the three times she had upset her mother enough for her to lose her temper like she had been doing. She was hoping, if the young teen could escape to her bedroom that her mother's temper would fizzle out. But sadly and as expected, she barely made it across the room before she was stopped

"Oh no. No, no, no." Dragging her daughter back to the couch Anarka threw her onto the couch, not even batting an eyelash at her yelp of pain. "This conversation is far from other and you will listen to me, young lady."

"Fine," she said with a groan, rolling her eyes. "What else is there to talk about?"

"I will have none of this little attitude of yours, young lady," her mother snapped, sounding seconds away from losing her impatience. Standing in front of her, she tapped her steel toed boots, eyes narrowing. "I am tired of how you are acting. If Jagged Stone, his wife, and the other parents haven't intervened when they did, one of the children could have tried to commit suicide!" 

"I don't give a flying fuck," Juleka snapped from where she sat. "I don't care what happens to them. I just want this conversation to be over. I already know Rose is waiting for me to call her. We were supposed to get ice cream and go to the movies today to celebrate your third aniversity but we couldn't."

That is it!" Ankara couldn't take it anymore. "You are grounded. From this moment on until the next winter break, you will be grounded. And only if, I think you have earned it, will you be permitted to open presents once it's Christmas. I doubt Santa will bring you anything. You deserve coal, and I won't hold it against him if he gave you an entire bag full as a result of the past two and half years of actions."

"Santa isn't even real," she snapped, getting to her feet. "If I am grounded, I will be in my room."

"You will be going to your room shortly." her mother snapped, arms crossing over her chest. "I am not done talking to you yet, young lady. From now on, until I see fit, you will have a complex list of chores that will fill your free time which means no dates, no seeing your friends, no talking to anyone, and no leaving the boat. Unless it is time to eat or you are using the bathroom, you are not allowed to leave your bedroom unless Luca or I are with you."

"What about school?" the raven haired teen asked in shock. "You can't keep me from that."

"I will be switching you to attend an online class through the United States." Ankara said as she turned around and began to head to her bedroom. "I want the kitchen clean, dishes done, laundry washed and dried before you even go to your bedroom young lady."

"Yes, Mother," she said as she was left alone to start her list of chores that would take most of the evening and into the early hours to finish. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to briefly apologize the long gap, about a month and a half, between updates for, "When A Teacher Fails", and say thanks for everyone who took time to read this update and for their understanding. With this year being stressful as it was and suddenly gaining an influx of readers suddenly after writing fanfiction for 10+ years, it's all new to me. So I just wanted to thank everyone to waited longer than normal for this update and their understanding during these stressful times.


	18. Bonus Scene 3 Part 2

Mylene fought back the tears that burned in the corners of her eyes as her father, Fred Haprele, stood in front of her. Looking down with his brown gaze, the girl’s father crossed his arms and shook his head. After returning from his play from overseas and finally having access to a proper cellphone, the actor had received some shocking news about the actions of his daughter, not only shocking him but also disgusting him.

“What do you have to say about your actions, young lady?” he demanded firmly, watching as his daughter squirmed. “When I went overseas to Russia, Ireland, and the other countries, I thought you would be mature enough to live on your own for a few months. What I didn’t think I would receive is a phone call from the school about how you bullied a girl and her friends. What were you thinking?”

Placing her hands onto her ears and squeezing her eyes shut, the brown haired girl rocked on her heels, trying to push back the wave of guilt that was washing over her. “I don’t know,” she said, feeling the burn of her parental figure’s gaze. “I don’t know what I was thinking, Father!”

Pinching the bridge of his nose and releasing a long sigh, the forty-year-old shake his head. “I don’t know what to do with you, Mylene. I expected better than you. You show so much promise for a better future but yet you throw it away because of this Lilia Rossi girl.”

“We thought she had an illness, Father,” she protested, tears beginning to fall down her face. “You always told me never to prod or pressure anyone on talking about their medical issues, and Miss Busiter wanted us to treat them to be normal. There was no room to question or time to process what was happening before it all blew up!”

“I am very disappointed in you,” Fred said with a shake of his head, stalking over to the couch and sitting down. Hands falling onto his lap, he waited until she settled down beside him. “Because of this, you know that I have to punish you even though it pains me, Mylene.”

Lowering her head down, the fifteen-year-old gave a short nod. She had expected this to be coming.

"Because of what has happened the past few months, I will be sending you to an all girl's school," her father explained, resting a hand on his daughter's knee. "Attending this school will put you back onto the right back and hopefully give you a better chance to reform your character. I don’t want you become another target for Hawk Moth like at the beginning of his reign. Ladybug and Chat Noir have enough trouble to deal the current Akumas for another to be added.”

Flinching, she gave a mute nod.

“With you attending the all girls school, I will not be allowing you contact with your former classmates, male and female,” he went on, not giving her time to process or protest to the information. “You will be allowed one last call to Ivan and that will be to breaking up with him, My. Once that is over, I will be taking your phone and you will lose all your communication devices until you prove that you can handle one again.”

“I understand, Father,” she said with a sigh, getting up and turning around. “I will go and get my cellphone, tablet, and laptop to bring them to you.”

“My?” her father called from where he sat.

“Yes?” she hummed.

“Even though you may have made bad choices, I will love you.”

***

Max sat in his bedroom, eyes glued onto the computer screen and a textbook open on his lap. He had just arrived home from an extended two week break from attending a computer camp abroad and was now catching up with his homework over the next few days as he recuperated from the extended flight. “What’s wrong, Mother?” he asked, noticing his mother, Claudie Kente, approached him, stopping the door from slamming shut. “Did something happen?” the fourteen-year-old pressed once he noticed how worried she looked.

“I just saw the news, Max,” she began, running her fingers through her hair. “There was something that happened at your old school. It was with your friends: Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Chloe.”

“You should watch this, Max.” His mother went over to one of his side monitors. Bending down, she typed something into the search engine and pulled up a live stream. “I just saw this on the tv, and thought you should watch this, honey.”

Pausing his homework, Max rolled over to the screen, brown eyes widening when he reconized his old school. Halfway through the fall term of last year, he had transferred out to a more technology orientated school to help further develop technical skills for his future career. It wasn’t just home who left alone.

His older classmate, Nathaniel, had gone to full remote learning when his comic, Ladybug and Chat Noir, hit it well over seas. He and his partner, Marc, had started working on it full time and going to school when they could. His close friend, Alix, had transferred to a school that could keep up with her hyperactivity, more than Marinette’s, and was more hands on. From what he knew, her grades had shot up from all F’s to C’s and B’s almost overnight.

“Good morning everyone,” Nadja Chamack said as she stood outside his school. She wore a heavy, winter coat and held a microphone close to her. “Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news. Today, we will be covering the aftermath of the France Dupont incident. With the primary teacher, Caline Busiter, and headmaster, Brian Dramocles, being fired, the remaining students are shook and parents are left reeling. But the most important question that should be considered is how could the children go uncheck and allow a class of thirteen gain up on five of their own classmates.”

She moved up the steps, stopping at the door beside the police tape. “Because of the horrific events that that played out, the staff and students were given winter break early. With recent events, it was also shocking to discover that interviews held with the victims was done wrongly. Because of this, they will be demoted and put into a lowly office job…”

“Oh my god!” Max was left speechless, standing up. Ignoring the textbook falling at his feet, the fourteen-year-old lifted his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was almost too hard to believe. How could his former classmates turned so suddenly? What had caused this to happen? “Mother, who are the people caught at the blunt end?” he asked, looking at his parental figure. “Who dealt with all this crap?”

“You should reach out and contact your former classmate, Marinette, honey,” his mother replied, settling down onto his unmade bed. Hands gripping onto his knees, she went on. “I reached out to Nadja Chamack and from what it sounds like, she isn’t handling this well as she makes people believe. Having someone that wasn’t pulled into this mess and knowing her from childhood might help her come out and explain how she is feeling. I can tell the school that you are taking winter break early because of family issues if you want to start spending time with Marinette and your other classmates, Alya, Adrien, Chloe, and Alexandra. They all could use someone to talk to outside of this mess.”

“I will contact them,” he said, grabbing his cellphone from his charger.

***

Alix lay on her bed, a pillow tucked beneath her and her laptop in front of her. Her boyfriend, Kim, was on the screen as he sat on an airplane. “How was your trip to New York?” she asked, meeting his gaze. “Did you get to meet the American heroes, Kim?”

“I only met one but Ladybug and Chat Noir are cooler than them,” Kim replied softly, keeping his voice low as not to wake the others on the plane that were sleeping. “They don’t really interact with the public like them. I saw several people get hurt and they didn’t even stop to help them or come back after like our heroes to check up on the citizens.”

“They are the best,” Alix agreed as their was a knock at the door. “Who is it?” she called, expecting her older brother or father to walk in. Instead it was her and Kim’s other boyfriend, Max. “Hey Max. I’m on zoom with Kim. Do you want to come to say hi?”

“Did you hear what happened with our former classmates?” he asked, settling and meting into the embrace of his girlfriend. “Between Marinette, Adrien, Alya, Chloe, and a girl named Alexandra. Have you seen the news?”

“What happened?” both Kim and Alix demanded.

“It appears that the girl, Lila Rossi, has been playing a wolf in sheeps clothing,” he commented with a sigh. “The boys were harassing the girls and Lilia went out of her way to get Marinette placed in remedial classes.”

“My god!” Alix was to her feet, blue eyes wide as she balled her hands into fists. “How could the school system let that happen? Everyone knows that Marinette, while being always late and sometimes turning homework in a day or two after the due date, she had the top grades in the school.”

“I am going to pulverize them,” Kim said with a growl, face scrunching up on the screen. “Who do I need I fight to make it better for them?”

“No fighting,” Max and Alix chimed in as Kim’s face fell with a pout.

“But I contacted Marinette earlier this morning,” Max went on, adjusting his glasses. “She informed me that she and the other four will be going out for ice cream later this week. I am invited and I don’t doubt she would complain or protest if you were to attend with me. Would you want to go?”

Kim and Alix shared a look between each other. “We will be there,” they agreed after a moment.

***

Rose flinched, gripping tightly onto the edge of the couch as her father and mother yelled. She had been called down after being locked in her bedroom the past two weeks to discuss her punishments with her parents. They said, after much yelling, she was going to be sent to the nun runned school so she could be away from the bad influences of her classmates.

“This will be for the best,” her mother snapped, hands placed firmly on her hips, glaring at her daughter. “Because your actions, you will have no contact with anyone except for your father and I once entering the school.”

“You will be leaving in the next couple days,” her father said, moving over to her mother. “Until you leave, Rose, you will remain in your bedroom, with no communication devices, and no other things besides your bed, clothes, and a few books that we have approved.”

“Yes, Papa,” she said with a sigh, shoulders slumping. Getting to her feet, she headed back to her bedroom.


	19. Bonus Scene 3 Part 3

Nino sat in the living room of his parents’ bedroom, head hanging down and elbows resting on his knees. His grandfather, a stern and old fashioned man, stood in front of him, brown eyes filled with anger. “You are a man,” his grandfather said, struggling to speak his nonnative tongue. “A man does not do what you did, Nino. How can I call you my grandson when you allowed something like this to play out? What do you have to say for yourself?”

Tensing up at the roar of his relative and pressing his fingers into his temple, Nino tried to stop the throbbing headache he had. Ever since Lila had been arrested, no longer apart of his class, and handing out stuff to “benefit” the class, he had been getting bad headaches and trouble sleeping. It had gotten so bad, his mother and father, still angered and disappointed, had noticed something was wrong. Now, almost a full two weeks later, had left him and his younger brother in the care of their grandfather after the doctor called them. “I-I-“ The fifteen-year-old fell silent, blinking the tears that threatened to spill. How could he explain what he was experiencing? Would his grandfather be able to understand how he felt like an Akuma was trapped in his head or how only a few minutes of sleep a night didn’t make him any better?

“You better start explaining,” he ordered, seizing ahold of his wrists. “I want answers before you leave with me to return to Russia. There will be no pansy acting around me, Nino. Start talking now or should I get the belt.”

“Papa!” His little brother, Christopher, wrapped around his leg, shocking the two males in the room. They hadn’t noticed him approaching. “Nino is sick. There is something wrong with him. Don’t yell.”

The ninth grader didn’t know whether to be shocked or surprised. Had he been that out of it that his little four-year-old brother had noticed something was amiss? Was this why his parents’ demeanor had suddenly changed overnight? They had gone from yelling to screaming at him for him being a horrible person to sitting with him when he couldn’t sleep or singing to him, as if he was an infant again, in the dark when he got bad headaches.

“Christopher, nothing is wrong with your old-“ His grandfather got caught off.

His mother burst into the room, weary of being too loud for the sake of her son. Approaching him and pulling her fifteen-year-old son close, Natasha Carter, his mother, held him firmly. “I am going to kill, Lila Rossi,” she hissed, teeth bared. “She has gone too far this time.”

“What happened?” Their grandfather looked confused at the sudden turn of events. “What did that demon girl do now?”

“She’s been drugging our son,” his father said through clenched teeth. “The doctor said it was from the smoothies he has been drinking. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything lethal but explained his change in behavior that came out of nowhere?”

“What about the others?” Nino asked softly, almost relaxing in relief as the lights where turned down and the curtains drawn close. “Could that explain why they acted weird?”

“They were the sheep,” his mother murmured as she settled down on the couch beside him. “Unlike them, you were a herder caught in the middle. Lila Rossi saw you as a threat, and made sure you stayed under her thumb.”

_“Come with me and you can go back to how you were before,” Lady Judge had offered, holding her hand out. “I will make sure you never experienced the pain of reality again.”_

“She came to me as Lady Judge,” he said, blinking his eyes. “S-s-she said I would have to never experience the pain of reality again and go back to how I was before.”

“The police can’t do anything with a confession from an Akuma,” Natasha sighed.

“I-is Nino still in trouble?” Christopher clambered onto his older brother’s lap, looking at the adults. “Is he going to Russia with Papa still?”

“No!” His father shook his head. “Nino is going to see a counselor for what happened and transferred to a different school. He was much of a victim like his girlfriend and the others.”

“We will get everything figured out in the end,” their grandfather added. “For now, let’s go unpack your brother’s things. He should attempt to get some rest.”

“Thank you,” he said, finally letting his shoulders slump, exhaustion falling onto him.

***

Sabrina opens her mouth to protest but instead falls silent under the cold glare of her father. “Yes, Papa,” she said as she turned around and headed to her bedroom. Once inside, she closes the door and begins to pack a bag.

With everything at the school coming to light and her father almost losing his job because of her, she had been held under lock and key in her bedroom. He couldn’t risk her doing anything else that could cause him to be fired. It was only because of her former friend, Chloe, that her father had a job. She had argued that it wasn’t fair to blame him for the actions of his daughter. While he may have not noticed what was happening, it wasn’t his fault.

Zipping her bag close and approaching her father back in the living room, she gave him a tight squeeze as the chaperone, the man from the Scared Straight program, took her luggage. While she had accepted her punishment many times over, it still hurt her being away from her only parent for the next six months. But it was in agreement with the court that if she did this, her record would be wiped clean.

“I will see you on visitors’ day,” she whispered to her father as they stood in the driveway. “Remember its every Third Wednesday and Sunday, Papa.”

“I will see you then,” he promised as he watched her board the bus and it drive way down the block.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short piece about Nino's part and him finding out he was drugged.   
> *******************************************************************  
> That part was based on a conversation that I had a friend of mine about me getting stuck. I wanted to have a reason why Nino had a very, very sudden change in behavior that wasn't physical or mental. So I thought nd talking to my friend was possibly that Lila, like Mari and the others, saw him as a threat. But unlike the others, knew that he would be harder to isolate and torment into silence like with the others. So instead, she did what she thought was best. He was given just enough to make him lucid enough to appear normal but enough to make him unable to make most decisions for himself. And once she realized that her reign was starting to crumble from underneath her, she quite giving Nino the drugged smoothies like in the past, causing him to start going through withdrawal, giving the reason for him having trouble falling asleep and throbbing, jack hammer headaches.


	20. Bonus Scene 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A New Hero Joins Team Miraculous!

Alexandra lay curled up on her bed, the framed photo of her teammates held in front of her. Blue eyes staring at it, she blinked tears away, trying to push the quelling emotions back behind her barrier. With Lila being arrested around three weeks ago, she had been struggling to regain her true self back and not to let her negativity to attract an Akuma. With the recent increase of akuma battles, Ladybug, Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, and Chat Noir were appearing to be more and more ragged with each early morning or late night battle. The least she could do for them was not make sure she didn’t become Akumatized.

“Mistress, what would you have done if you were here?” the fifteen-year-old sighed, glancing in the direction of where a picture of an older lady wearing a simple white dressed and had a simple pair of chopsticks with five small bumps on it. “What guidance would have you given to me if you were still here?”

Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she pushed herself up into a sitting position as she grabbed her phone. Her teammate, Phantom Viper, had told her he was always a phone call away if she needed to talk. Hopefully, after a month and half of radio silence, he would still be willing to hold up.

“Hello?” she breathed in a small voice as the phone was picked up. “Phantom, are you busy right now?”

“H-Healer?” The sleepy voice of her eldest teammate answered her. There was a rustling of sheets before the next answer came. “I’m free. Just got woke up to prepare to go over to Mistresses and then patrol before heading to school. What’s wrong? And don’t lie. I can tell something is wrong, Alex.”

“I-I-I-“ No longer able to hold back the building sob, the American teen broke, voice cracking. “I miss all of you soo much. I wish I could just turn everything back to normal and begin training with Mistress again. I can’t stand being in Paris. France isn’t where I belong, Phantom. I belong with you and the others.”

“Healer, what happened was for the best,” Phantom stressed with a nervous sigh. “It’s becoming more dangerous over where and we are barely staying afloat. Mistress, I, and the three others have agreed it was for the best you moved to Paris when you did.”

“It’s no different over there,” she snarled hotly, covering her mouth to muffle a snob. She had already been punishing it already with her three sisters and cousin sleeping in the room with her. If she woke them up, the faded, purple haired teen didn’t know how to explain what had gotten her so upset. “Paris has a villain just like New York,” she whispered, pulled her knees up to her chest with a grit of her teeth. “The only difference with Paris, the team of heroes here are on their own. I don’t even think they have someone like Mistress.”

“Stop fibbing…” Phantom let out a low growl of annoyance. He knew that Alex would attempt to say anything she could to get her way but never expected this to happen. She knew it would be useless. Mistress or her teammates would allow her to return to Paris when it was a battle zone. “I know you are just saying this so that you can return to New York but that isn’t happening, Healer. With you now being in the condition that you are now, rejoining us and moving back to New York would just make you a burden and a strain that can’t pull her own weight. Now do you have anything else you want to say or can I go? I need to go pick up Wise Owl while Honey Bear is picking up the team’s coffee.”

“I’m fine,” she whispered, lips trembling as she hung up the phone. Letting the phone and framed photo slip onto the floor, Alex squeezed her eyes shut, nearly jumping out of her skin as there was a knock at her bedroom window.

Hanging up the phone and reaching for her crutches, wedged between the bed and a side table, they were within her reach. Slowly shifting until her feet touched the cold ground, Alex stood up, using her sleeve to wipe the tears off of her face. Pulling the curtain back, the fifteen-year-old almost leaped backwards once she saw the familiar faces of Ladybug and Chat Noir clinging to the very edge of her window.

“Wha-“ Blinking her gaze, she took a step back. Coming to her bearings, she unlocked the window and pulled it open. “W-w-what are you doing here, Ladybug? Chat Noir?” Heart clenching, she whispered, “Did Lilia Rossi get akumatized again?”

“No, she is far away from the reach of Paris that Hawk Moth will never be able to reach her,” Chat says, not sounding fully convinced. “But there is something else that we need to talk to you about.”

“Come in.” Shuffling backwards, she stopped at the end of the beds, settling down at the edge of her little sister’s bed. Smoothing out their bed covers and recovering the girls. “What did you need?”

Slithering into the room, the two heroes perched themselves on the edge of the windowsill, waiting until Alexandra could give them their full attention. “While you haven’t been there that long, you must have noticed how we are facing a lot of akumas lately and they have only increased in power since the evil of Lila Rossi was exposed.”

“W-w-what does this have to deal with me?” she asked quietly, falling back into English. “After Lilia Rossi was gone, I thought everything would go back to normal.”

“It would be too dangerous to explain it here.” Gesturing to each bed, he began to clamber out of the door. “We won’t take that long,” the cat themed hero assured. “It should only take a few minutes than we will return you to your bedroom.”

Nodding mutely, Alex went over to where she stored her jacket. Slipping it on, she held tightly onto Ladybug as they leapt through the air. Landing on the room across from her aunt’s two bedroom apartment, she was shocked into silence when seeing Queen Bee and Rena Rouge was also present.

“Something tells me that this is more than a social visit,” she said in broken French. “D-d-did something happen?”

“Much as lovely it is to meet you,” Queen Bee said as Rena led her to an over turned beam when she noticed how shaky the girl was. “This is far from being a social call. Instead it deals with the future of Team Miraculous and future security of our city.”

“Alexandra Clark,” Ladybug began once they were all settled in the warmer corner of the room, huddling together to fight against the chill. “As said before, the akuma battles have increased in numbers and ferocity. It is time that we realized, we need more help than my teammates and I. This is the Siberian Tiger Miraculous, which grants the power of protection and loyalty.” Open her weapon, she pulled out a box. Once her yo-yo was secured back onto her waist, she held the box out of her. “Should you choose to accept, you will use this power for the greater good and protection of Paris. You will become a member of Team Miraculous and join in the aid of protecting Paris and defeating Hawk Moth. As Guardian and for the voice of the team, I ask, will you come to our aid?”

Breath caught in her throat, she stared at the box, stunned. “T-t-there’s an akuma right now?” she squeaked out, coming back to the present. Back in New York, her teammates hadn’t chosen another to aid them unless in the thick of battle. “W-w-where..” She grew quiet, heart thumping in her chest as she prepared some kind of attack to appear out of thin air.

“No!” Rena Rouge gives a quick shake of her head before the younger girl could react. “There is no sign of danger,” she assured as Alexandra gave a nod, breathing a sigh of relief.

“My teammates and I spoke and thought it would be better to give you a chance to adapt to wearing a Miraculous,” Ladybug went on, still holding the box out to her. “It times much time and practice fo fully become a seasoned warrior when under constant pressure.”

“Do you accept it or not?” Queen Bee asked, feeling a bit impatient. “We don’t have all night to wait for your answer.”

“I-“

_“…make you a burden and a strain that can’t pull her own weight...”_

“Why me?” she whispered, pulling her winter coat tighter. “Why someone who is damaged like me?”

Chat Noir, taking the place of Rena Rouge, laid a hand on her shoulder, starling her. “There was someone, a little birdy, who told us what you went through,” he began, his belt tail switching back and forth. “Of how you stood up against your harasser, Lilia Rossi. And when given a chance when first arriving in Paris, you refused to allow her to become another person’s tormenter. Even when those said people where complete strangers to you.”

“And..” Rena Rouge helped her to her feet before taking a step back. “Ladybug knows you are the right person for this Miraculous.”

“I don’t be a good asset,” she protested, blinking tears out of her eyes. “I can hardly move as it is. How will I be able to move in battle, or be able to help protect Paris. My condition will be nothing short of a burden to you. It just feels wrong.”

“You are wrong,” Rena Rouge interrupted firmly as she brushed some of her lose hair from in front of her ears to expose a hearing aid. “It wasn’t until recently but I was proven to be deaf in one year after years thinking I was just faking it, being lazy, or a strain on my teachers. It has only been three weeks but already I have improved in Akuma battles, on patrol, and hopefully one day in school. But getting a hearing aid doesn’t take away me being partly deaf. As Ladybug says it is all the time, “You may have some perceived limitations by others, you know how to use those to your advantages.” When there are akumas who are sound based, I don’t have to worry about one side of me. Or it doesn’t distract me from battle. While you do have trouble with walking, joining us will give you strength, it will make you more than someone who has trouble walking.”

“But do remember this is a dangerous job,” Queen Bee butted in with annoyed looks from her teammates.

“Queen Bee does speak the truth,” the spotted hero agreed with a sigh. “My Miraculous cure can fix almost everything but there is a risk that you could be hurt or worse. And, no matter what happens, you must agree to keep your idenity and the other part of your life a secret. No one, not even our own kin, can find out what you are truly doing during every akuma battle.”

“Now, do you accept,” Ladybug asked again, holding the box back in front of her. “If you do, you will not only become our teammate but also part of something bigger than Hawk Moth and Paris. Along the way, there will be hardship and days of hopelessness. But in the future, you will never be alone as you will have your Kawami and the loyalty of us, our teammates, even when we are thousand miles apart.”

“I choose to come to the aid of Paris and Team Miraculous,” she said confidently, picking up the box. Surprisingly, it was heavier than expected and practically vibrated within her palm. Opening the lid and raising one hand to cover her eyes, a bright, pure hot white orb shot out. Fighting the urge to flinch back, she watched with wide eyes as a creature began to emerge.

“W-w-what is this?” she forced out, confused how it appeared so different but felt so familiar to her. “W-w-who are you?”

The creature, a small lion like thing, was the color of snow with a long, bushy tail tipped with black. Its paws, large and clumsy, had small claws poking out. Its eyes, appearing cold as ice, were brightly lit when meeting her wide eyed gaze. With an excited squeal, she floated around her new Chosen, being lost in a blur of rippling black stripes and pure, snowy white. Finally, once the excitement died down, the creature settled on her wrist, parting jaws to reveal four, small, sharp milk teeth.

“I am so glad to meet you, Chosen,” it squeaked, ears twitching. “It has been eons since I have had another Chosen. You’re my first female one though.”

Blinking her bright eyed gaze, Alex took a deep breath, not expecting it to talk. Moving her hands to allow it to rest on her palms, she gave a short nod. “It..it’s nice to meet you,” she whispered before the creature squealed before diving at her, nuzzling her neck. “M-m-my name’s Alexandra but I go by Alex.”

“You are beautiful my little kitten,” the Kawami said once it was curled up in the crook of her neck. “And, you will be my strongest one yet.”

Smiling faintly, she glanced down at her Miraculous. It was a simple necklace, an enlarged lion claw that was a dark obsidian. The only thing that stood out to her was the five small ridges that went around it and the lightening in the spaces between.

Placing it on and letting it fall onto her neck, she glanced at Ladybug. “What now?”

“Transform for your first patrol with us,” Ladybug replied.

“How do I do that?”

“Say, “Kionn, let’s seek” to transform, and “Kionn, let’s protect” to detransform,” her Kwami responded from where he rested.

With a bated breath, she cried, “Kionn, let’s seek!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo, wow. 
> 
> With much frustration and chaos that has happened over the past few months for me, I can’t believe to say that: When A Teacher Fails is over. This story was started on five days after me starting my first semester at a four-year college. When I first started writing, it was supposed to be a one-shot that gained no traction like my other stories. After 10+ years of writing, I never expected to gain such a following besides one or two faithful readers. But after so much attention, I realized that I could do it. I can write, plan, and finish a fic. It was that moment, after classes on September 3rd that I realized I could work towards what I wanted to be since I was little. I always wanted to be a writer, and this fic, gave me the pushed I needed. 
> 
> It was this story and all of you commenting that gave me the push to actually plan out a fic. Before this, I never have done that as I never found enough patience to sit still and plan out. After planning out and updating anymore, I felt exhilarated by all the attention I was gaining. 
> 
> This story was what I needed when starting a semester away from home. A semester after being online because of Covid and not seeing my two friends a lot anymore. A semester where my main friends where online and thousands of miles away from me. But than I began to interact with people who shared a same interest as me : Miraclous Ladybug and I began to feel like I could do this. I could be a student where most of my friends aren’t near me and are also adjusting to a world claimed by pandemic. =
> 
> The response to this has been insane as I said beore. Thank you, for every reader, commener, kudos, given to me and sticking with me, especially during the long histus of my winter break. 
> 
> With this part of the installment over, I still have plans for this series. I have plans with them. I want to dove deeper into the mysterious “New York Teammates” to Tom and Sabine’s fragile relationship with Marinette and a possible idenity reveal. While, at this moment, I will be taking a break from this series, the “When A Teacher Fails series,” I will have other stores. 
> 
> My next focus will be a piece called, “A Thousand Lifetimes,” which will eventually be published and if I am right, longer than “When A Teacher Fails.”
> 
> Thank you all again, it’s been a blast of you coming to read my fics.
> 
> -Dreamelilly018
> 
> P.S.
> 
> Aa this didn’t feel like it would flow correctly in note, here it is. I want to perceive what would be better to write first. Would you rather have a story that takes place after the court date and Marinette’s class (like New York Special) going to New York and meeting Alexandra’s mysterious “New York Teammates”. But do be warned if I write this, it will contains themes of Ableism and sexism. 
> 
> For the second one, would be a series of one-shots would be learning of Alexandra’s life before coming to Paris, Marinette’s reaction, The team’s reaction, possible identity reveal, and Mari and Tikki agonizing over the potential of being separated if Jarred Stone and Penny Rolling wins the custody of their honoree niece.
> 
> P.S.A: If you want further updates for this series, I would suggest you bookmark or subscribe to the series under the same name so you can keep up to date with future publications.


	21. Annoucement

The next installment of "When A Teacher Fails" is live with the first chapter!!


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